Start Date: February 2020

ID #: 77238

Principal Investigator: Shu Wen Ng, PhD

Organization: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Funding Round: HER Round 12

See more related research

Share


Using economic modeling, this study seeks to advance nutritional equity by identifying ways to lower economic barriers to healthy eating among low-income households with children. This study will identify mechanisms for directing unhealthy food and beverage tax revenues towards healthy incentives, particularly through existing federally-funded, but local and state-run programs such as WIC and SNAP. A flexible demand system model will be used to estimate how households respond to price changes across food/beverage categories given budgetary constraints. The analysis will focus on WIC and/or SNAP participating households that also have a child or children 0 to 8 years of age. Price elasticity estimates will be used to stimulate how price reductions via different degrees of incentives on foods and beverages meeting WIC nutrition standards will change purchase patterns. Furthermore, estimates of price elasticities of demand will be used to stimulate price increases via taxes on unhealthy ultra-processed products among WIC and/or SNAP households with children. The combined (incentive + disincentive) policies and their impact on food purchase patterns will be used to identify mechanisms at the state/local levels for implementing incentives.

Related Research

April 2024

Promoting Healthier Purchases: Ultraprocessed Food Taxes and Minimally Processed Foods Subsidies for the Low Income

Fiscal policies can shift relative food prices to encourage the purchase and consumption of minimally processed foods while discouraging the purchase and consumption of unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, high in calories and nutrients of concern (sodium, sugar, and saturated fats), especially for low-income households. The 2017–2018 packaged food purchase data among U.S. households were used to More

September 2025

Food Insecurity-Related Stigma Among Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review

This review aimed to characterize individual- and structural-level stigma associated with government (ie, SNAP, WIC) and emergency food program (ie, food banks, pantries, cupboards, soup kitchens) utilization in the US. 5 databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts) were searched in June 2024. The review included peer-reviewed articles (January 2004 – June 2024), More

August 2025

Lived Experiences of Families Navigating Safety Net Expansions and Retractions During the Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

This study aimed to understand the experiences of families with low income in California with pandemic safety net support expansions and retractions, including barriers to program access. Using open-ended questions, we explored the self-reported experiences of pandemic-era safety net expansions and expirations between January and June 2023 among a group of caregivers of young children More