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Strategies to Improve the Dietary Quality of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Beneficiaries: An Assessment of Stakeholder Opinions
Author(s) -
Leung Cindy W,
Hoffnagle Elena E,
Blumenthal Susan J,
Lofink Hayley,
Jensen Helen H,
Foerster Susan B,
Cheung Lilian W.Y.,
Nestle Marion,
Willett Walter C
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.232.7
Subject(s) - supplemental nutrition assistance program , voucher , business , stakeholder , purchasing , environmental health , incentive , snap , certification , grocery store , marketing , medicine , food security , food insecurity , agriculture , economics , public relations , political science , ecology , computer graphics (images) , accounting , management , microeconomics , computer science , biology
This study examined the opinions of 522 individuals with stakeholder interest in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on strategies to improve dietary quality of SNAP participants. The top three barriers to improving dietary quality were: 1) unhealthy foods marketed in low‐income communities; 2) the high cost of healthy foods; and 3) lifestyle challenges faced by low‐income individuals. Most respondents (70%) also disagreed that current SNAP benefit levels were adequate to maintain a healthy diet. Stakeholders believed that vouchers, coupons, or monetary incentives for purchasing healthful foods might have the greatest potential for improving the diets of SNAP participants. Many respondents (78%) agreed that sugar‐sweetened beverages should not be eligible for purchases with SNAP benefits. More than half of all respondents (55%) believed retailers could easily implement such restrictions. A majority of respondents (58%) agreed that stores should stock a minimum quantity of healthful foods in order to be certified as a SNAP retailer, and most respondents (83%) believed that the USDA should collect data on the foods purchased with SNAP benefits. Results suggest that there is broad stakeholder support for policies that align SNAP purchase eligibility with national public health goals: reducing food insecurity, improving nutrition and preventing obesity