Abstract
Predictors of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use at Farmers' Markets with Produce Incentive Programming
Darcy Freedman, MPH, PhD1, David Ngendahimana, MS, PhD1, En-Jung Shon, MSW1, Kathryn Merritt, MPH2 and Julia Pon, MCP2
(1)Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, (2)Wholesome Wave, Berkeley, CA
APHA's 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 - Nov. 14)
Introduction: Produce incentive programs address cost barriers to purchasing fruits and vegetables for people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Implementation is supported through the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program established in the 2014 Farm Bill. This FINI policy evaluation examined factors contributing to increased SNAP use at farmers' markets operating a produce incentive program in 2016.
Methods: Data were collected at 287 FINI-funded farmers' markets from 16 states and DC that used a standardized method for recording sales transactions and market level data. Multivariable regression examined predictors of the dollars of SNAP used in conjunction with diverse models of produce incentive programming. The outcome (SNAP sales) was log transformed due to skewness. Significance was set at p<0.05.
Results: SNAP sales at markets were 29.0% higher if incentives provided >$10 in matching benefits compared to a $10 maximum, 27.8% higher if more than one incentive was available versus only one, and 31.7% lower if the market manager was unpaid versus paid. SNAP sales increased significantly with each one unit increase in: weeks market was open (5.9%), average number of market vendors (1.6%) and produce vendors (4.7%), and percent of SNAP recipients living in the zip code near the market (2.4%). This model explained 60.0% of the variation in SNAP sales at participating farmers' markets.
Discussion: Findings highlight the value of standardized data systems for evaluating policy-influenced natural experiments. Results provide evidence for informing produce incentive program implementation to maximize use by people receiving SNAP.
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Public health or related public policy