Disparities in SNAP online grocery delivery and implementation: Lessons learned from California during the 2020-21 COVID pandemic

Isabelle S Foster; Samantha Y Liu; Charlie T Hoffs; Christopher LeBoa; Andrew S Chen; Pasquale E Rummo

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102811

Disparities in SNAP online grocery delivery and implementation: Lessons learned from California during the 2020-21 COVID pandemic

Health Place. 2022 Jul:76:102811. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102811. Epub 2022 May 21.

Authors

Isabelle S Foster¹, Samantha Y Liu², Charlie T Hoffs³, Christopher LeBoa⁴, Andrew S Chen⁵, Pasquale E Rummo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies: FSI, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: ifoster@alumni.stanford.edu.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: liu.samantha.y@gmail.com.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: chuck99@stanford.edu.
⁴ Department of Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: chrisleboa@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. Electronic address: andrew.chen@cs.stanford.edu.
⁶ Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA. Electronic address: Pasquale.Rummo@nyulangone.org.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) was rapidly expanded across the US. This program, enabling direct-to-home grocery delivery, could be a transformative step towards improving fresh-food access. However, lack of information on which areas are serviced by SNAP OPP hinders the identification of potential demographic and regional disparities in access. Lessons from the initial implementation period are critical for understanding continuing inequities and informing the implementation of future programs. In California, SNAP OPP expanded food access for 85.9% of the state's SNAP households in 2020-21. Coverage was significantly greater in urban areas, covering 87.2% of CalFresh households in urban limited food access areas as compared with 29.9% of CalFresh households in rural limited food access areas. County-level COVID-19 rates did not have a meaningful association with SNAP OPP coverage.

Keywords: Government food assistance; Health policy; Implementation lessons; Online grocery delivery; Supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) online purchasing pilot (OPP).

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Family Characteristics
Food Assistance*
Food Supply
Humans
Pandemics
Poverty