SNAP Participation Moderates Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Minority Families With Low Income

Abstract

Objective: To examine the moderation effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation on the baseline fruit and vegetable (FV) intake of Hispanic/Latino and African American children and parents participating in the Brighter Bites program.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Houston, Austin, and Dallas, TX; Washington, DC; and Southwest Florida.

Participants: Self-reported surveys (n = 6,037) of Hispanic/Latino and African American adult-child dyads enrolled in Brighter Bites in Fall 2018.

Variables measured: Dependent variable, child FV intake; Independent variable, parent FV intake, and FV shopping behavior; Effect Measure Modifier, SNAP participation.

Analysis: Quantitatively used mixed effects linear regression models to test if the effect of parental baseline FV intake and shopping behavior on a child's baseline FV intake differed by SNAP participation. Analyses were performed using STATA with significance set at P < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: For parents that consumed FV ≥ 2 times/d at baseline, there was a 0.1 times increase in child FV intake at baseline among those who participated in SNAP as compared with those who did not participate in SNAP (ß = 0.1; 95% CI, 0.1-0.2; P = 0.001), and for parents who shopped at convenience stores ≥ 2 times/wk for FV, there was 0.6 times increase in child FV intake at baseline for those who participated in SNAP as compared with those that did not participate in SNAP (ß = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9; P < 0.001).

Conclusions and implications: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation moderated the associations between FV intake among African American and Hispanic/Latino parents and children and FV shopping at convenience stores and child FV intake. Findings indicate a need for future interventions to promote SNAP participation among those eligible and improve access to FV.

Keywords: SNAP; fruit and vegetable intake; health promotion; populations with low income; shopping behavior.