Online Program

Oral

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in how local food environments may influence people’s food purchasing and consumption decisions, particularly with regard to healthy foods in disadvantaged communities. This session will explore access to storefront and mobile food sources, consider geographic distributions and the importance of assistance programs (i.e., SNAP participation), and describe the results of redesigning small stores to carry healthier food products.

Session Objectives: Describe the impact of SNAP fruit-and-vegetable incentives in environments defined by varying distances to participating supermarkets. Explain how to conduct a multi-criteria assessment for locating mobile farmers’ markets in urban food deserts. Compare the amounts spent and items purchased at mobile produce markets by customers paying with SNAP benefits vs. customers paying with cash. Describe the impact and viability of converting small food stores to healthier inventories in terms of consumer purchasing.