Journal Article
Availability, Quality and Price of Produce in Low-Income Neighbourhood Food Stores in California Raise Equity Issues
By Gosliner W, Brown D, Sun B, Woodward-Lopez G, Crawford P
Objective: To assess produce availability, quality and price in a large sample of food stores in low-income neighbourhoods in California.
Design: Cross-sectional statewide survey.
Setting: Between 2011 and 2015, local health departments assessed store type, WIC (Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)/SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participation, produce availability, quality and price of selected items in stores in low-income neighbourhoods. Secondary data provided reference chain supermarket produce prices matched by county and month. t Tests and ANOVA examined differences by store type; regression models examined factors associated with price.
Subjects; Large grocery stores (n 231), small markets (n 621) and convenience stores (n 622) in 225 neighbourhoods.
Results: Produce in most large groceries was rated high quality (97 % of fruits, 98 % of vegetables), but not in convenience stores (25 % fruits, 14 % vegetables). Small markets and convenience stores participating in WIC and/or SNAP had better produce availability, variety and quality than non-participating stores. Produce prices across store types were, on average, higher than reference prices from matched chain supermarkets (27 % higher in large groceries, 37 % higher in small markets, 102 % higher in convenience stores). Price was significantly inversely associated with produce variety, adjusting for quality, store type, and SNAP and WIC participation.
Conclusions: The study finds that fresh produce is more expensive in low-income neighbourhoods and that convenience stores offer more expensive, poorer-quality produce than other stores. Variety is associated with price and most limited in convenience stores, suggesting more work is needed to determine how convenience stores can provide low-income consumers with access to affordable, high-quality produce. WIC and SNAP can contribute to the solution.
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Date Added
February 7, 2019
Citation
Gosliner W, Brown D, Sun B, Woodward-Lopez G, Crawford P (2018) Availability, Quality and Price of Produce in Low-Income Neighbourhood Food Stores in California Raise Equity Issues. Public Health Nutrition: Vol. 21, Issue 9, pp. 1639 - 1648. Available online: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/availability-quality-and-price-of-produce-in-lowincome-neighbourhood-food-stores-in-california-raise-equity-issues/A791DA0AFD80615BE67A16F63728499A
