Lessons Learned from Small Store Programs to Increase Healthy Food Access

This paper presents the experiences and lessons learned from small food store interventions in four U.S. cities – Baltimore, Md.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Burlington, N.C.; and Philadelphia, Pa. Experiences from these four communities indicate that small store interventions face a variety of challenges that impact feasibility, acceptability, and long-term success. Particularly challenging issues included: understanding and More

The Effect of Prices on Nutrition: Comparing the Impact of Product- and Nutrient-Specific Taxes

This paper analyzes the role of prices in determining food purchases and nutrition using a detailed transaction-level observation for a large, nationally-representative sample of U.S. consumers over the years 2002-2007. Using structural demand estimates, researchers simulated the effect of a 20 percent product tax on soda, other sugar-sweetened beverages, packaged meals, and snacks, and 20 More

Meaningful, Measurable, and Manageable Approaches to Evaluating Healthy Food Financing Initiatives: An Overview of Resources and Approaches

Healthy food financing initiatives are a relatively new approach to improve access to healthy foods, enabling healthy food retailers to locate or renovate food outlets in underserved communities through one-time financing assistance. This paper provides guidance on using meaningful, measurable, and manageable methods to evaluate healthy food financing efforts. The authors outline a number of More

Validity of Secondary Retail Food Outlet Data: A Systematic Review

To characterize retail food environments and identify areas with limited retail access, researchers, government programs, and community advocates have primarily used secondary retail food outlet data sources. This systematic review examines the evidence for validity reported for secondary retail food outlet data sources for characterizing retail food environments. A literature search was conducted through December More

Impact of the Revised Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Package Policy on Fruit and Vegetable Prices

In 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was modified to align the WIC food packages with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As part of the revisions, WIC added a fruit and vegetable (F/V) voucher to the food packages. This paper describes a quasi-experimental study that examined whether F/V More

Examining Contracts and Agreements Between Small-Scale Food Retailers and the Food Industry

Small retail food stores are ubiquitous in lower-income, urban settings, and are a major food source among lower-income racial and ethnic minority children and adolescents. Little is known about the types of agreements (e.g., slotting fees, retail promotional programs, exclusive contracts) that small retail food stores may have with manufacturers and distributors of high-sugar, high-fat More

Economic and Community Development Outcomes of Healthy Food Retail

New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More

Economic and Community Development Outcomes of Healthy Food Retail. An Issue Brief

New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More

Understanding How Food Pricing and Access Affect the Diets of Children and Their Families

Price incentives on healthy foods, price disincentives on unhealthy foods, and greater access to healthier foods have received much attention from policy-makers and researchers as potentially effective obesity policies. The aims of this study are to: 1) estimate models to quantify the own- and cross-price elasticities (i.e., sensitivity) of processed foods, fruits and vegetables, and More