196 - A Descriptive Analysis of Fruit and Vegetable Point of Sale Receipt Data in the ¡Más Fresco! More Fresh Program

Poster Number: 196
Publication Number: 196.1667

Background: Diet related non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake are associated with decreased risk of these diseases. However, those who experience food insecurity often lack the resources to access, purchase, and consume FV. To address this issue, we obtained USDA NIFA funding to develop the ¡Más Fresco! More Fresh Program, which provides nutrition incentives (NI) to purchase fresh FV. We implemented a cloud-based, point-of-sale (POS) loyalty card system to track and distribute NI to families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Southern California and shop at Northgate González Markets. Dietary impacts of these programs are difficult to evaluate, but are often estimated by self-report surveys of consumption which are susceptible to recall and social desirability bias. In our program, we used store receipts to evaluate food purchasing data and provide estimates of overall FV intake.

Objective: To determine if there are differences in the FV purchasing patterns of participants receiving 3 different amounts of NI ($10, $20, or $40/month) in the ¡Más Fresco! program. We predicted that there would be a difference in purchasing patterns between groups, with the $40 group buying more FV than the others.

Design/Methods: POS receipt data of ¡Más Fresco! participants who were enrolled between 2017 and 2020 were used for analysis. Fruit or vegetable class was determined by botanical classification, and items were further grouped by type of FV. Outcomes included units and pounds of FV purchased per participant. Number of active participants were tracked per month. ANOVA was used to compare monthly differences between groups.

Results: 693, 720, and 809 participants were enrolled in the $10, $20, and $40 groups respectively. Majority of participants were female (90%), Latino (91%), and receiving $100-199 per month in SNAP benefits. The monthly number of active participants was highest in the $40 group compared to other groups (p = 0.002). The top FV purchased across all groups were bananas and tomatoes. The pounds of FV purchased per participant were significantly higher in the $40 group compared to the others (ps < 0.001).

Conclusion(s): With utilization of innovative POS receipt data, we found that the types of FV purchased were similar between the 3 NI groups. However, significantly higher amounts of FV were bought by the $40 group. Continued research is needed to discover the health outcomes of individuals consuming increased FV via NI programs.