Focus Area: Pricing & Economics

Evaluating the Impact of Subsidizing Purchases of Fresh Produce in Supermarkets for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients

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The 2014 Farm Bill Authorization included $100 million to promote the purchase of fresh produce among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants through matching financial incentives for every SNAP dollar spent on fresh produce. As part of this, the Fair Food Network (FFN) received over $5 million to expand its SNAP match program, Double Up More

Analyzing the Associations between Price Promotions and Health Claims on the Nutrient Profile of Food Purchases

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Despite substantial literature on how to improve the food environment for children, there has been little work examining how price promotions, nutrient-related claims, and their interactions might be associated with the nutrient profile of food purchases, particularly for lower-income and racial/ethnic minority populations. This study will address these gaps using 2008-2012 data for a demographically More

Testing the Effectiveness of a Double-Dollar Incentive Program to Increase Purchases of Fruits and Vegetables

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Currently there is much interest in incentivizing the purchase of healthier food items among lower-income populations. The purpose of this project is to pilot test a double-dollar incentive program traditionally used at farmers’ markets to increase purchases of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables in a large grocery store retail setting (Hannaford). Approximately 400 More

Assessment of a Government-Subsidized Supermarket in a High-Need Area on Household Food Availability and Children’s Dietary Intakes

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The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a new government-subsidized supermarket in a high-need area on household food availability and dietary habits in children. In September 2011, a new supermarket was opened in the Morrisania community in the South Bronx, New York, with funding from New York City’s Food Retail Expansion More

Big Soda’s Long Shadow: News Coverage of Local Proposals to Tax Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Richmond, El Monte and Telluride

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Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been identified as a key policy lever to reduce consumption of sugary drinks and to fund nutrition and physical activity programs. This paper analyzes news coverage of three SSB tax proposals in Richmond and El Monte, Calif., and Telluride, Colo., in 2012 and 2013. Although these three proposals failed, news More

California City Soda Tax Calculator

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The California City Soda Tax Calculator is an online tool that generates estimates of how much revenue a sugar-sweetened beverage tax would raise for incorporated California cities with populations over 25,000 (based on 2010 Census data). The calculator allows for a range of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes from ½ cent to 2 cents per ounce. The researchers More

By Ounce or by Calorie: The Differential Effects of Alternative Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Strategies

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This paper examines the differential effects that taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) by calories and by ounce have on beverage demand. Based on sales data from supermarkets across four New York state regions, researchers predict that a calorie-based SSB tax is more effective than an ounce-based tax because it achieves more calorie reduction with a smaller More