The purposes of this project are to: 1) understand the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies of Healthful Foods for Small Retail Food Stores recommendations developed in 2015 among stores most likely to face challenges (rural and urban, dollar and family-owned stores), and 2) obtain a baseline measure of level of store compliance among a sample of stores across four sites. Store manager interviews and quantitative baseline guideline compliance checks will be undertaken in 60 small retail food stores–15 stores each in Minnesota, the Mid-Atlantic region (i.e., Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania), Arizona, and North Carolina. These stores will be convenience sampled from census tracts with greater than 51 percent low- to moderate-income designations. Guideline requirements will be listed on a checklist whereby researchers will determine 1) if current inventory is already compliant with guidelines, and 2) if inventory does not meet guidelines, what specifically is absent. Interviews will be conducted with store owner/managers to determine which guidelines are anticipated to be most challenging for stores to implement and their motivations for participation. Findings will garner needed practical understanding for how best to refine, tailor, and design programmatic efforts to effectively release small store standards nationally such that they are most likely to achieve implementation.
Understanding the Feasibility of Implementing the Recommendations for Minimum Stocking Levels and Marketing Strategies for Small Retail Food Stores
Start Date: March 2016
ID #: CAS036
Organization: University of Delaware
Project Lead: Allison Karpyn, PhD
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Food & Beverage Marketing, Food Access
States: Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania
Keywords: Corner store, Food outlet, Fruits and vegetables, Healthy food financing, In-store marketing, Nutrition standards, Point-of-decision prompts, Rural, Spanish language, Urban
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