A growing number of consumers are ordering groceries online and picking them up in-store (OOPIS) to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Although OOPIS has been widely adopted, WIC participants in most states are unable to use OOPIS to redeem their WIC benefits due to significant legal barriers. To overcome these barriers, Prime Time Nutrition (PTN) stores in Oklahoma innovatively adopted a modified OOPIS model for WIC participants. This project aims to evaluate WIC participants’ adoption of the OOPIS model in Oklahoma and the impact of OOPIS on WIC participants’ benefit redemption behaviors. To achieve this goal, the research team will pursue two specific aims: 1) To examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the adoption of the OOPIS model among WIC participants in Oklahoma; and 2) To examine how OOPIS affects Oklahoma WIC participants’ redemption behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online Ordering and Curbside Pick‑up for WIC Participants during the COVID‑19 Pandemic
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