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Browsing by Author "Laska, Melissa N"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Data to accompany evaluation of the first U.S. staple foods ordinance: Impact on nutritional quality of food retailer offerings, customer purchases and home food environments
    (2019-08-08) Laska, Melissa N; Caspi, Caitlin E; Lenk, Kathleen; Moe, Stacey G; Pelletier, Jennifer E; Harnack, Lisa J; Erickson, Darin J; mnlaska@umn.edu; Laska, Melissa N; University of Minnesota Obesity Prevention Center
    Many lower-income and racially diverse communities in the U.S. have limited access to healthy foods, with few supermarkets and many small convenience stores, which tend to stock limited quantities and varieties of healthy foods. To address food access, in 2015 the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance became the first policy requiring food stores to stock minimum quantities and varieties of 10 categories of healthy foods/beverages, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other staples, through licensing. This study examined whether: (a) stores complied, (b) overall healthfulness of store environments improved, (c) healthy customer purchases increased, and (d) healthfulness of home food environments improved among frequent small store shoppers. Data for this natural (or quasi) experiment were collected at four times: pre-policy (2014), implementation only (no enforcement, 2015), enforcement initiation (2016) and continued monitoring (2017). In-person store assessments were conducted to evaluate food availability, price, quality, marketing and placement in randomly sampled food retailers in Minneapolis (n=84) and compared to those in a nearby control city, St. Paul, Minnesota (n=71). Stores were excluded that were: supermarkets, authorized through WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), and specialty stores (e.g., spice shops). Customer intercept interviews were conducted with 3,039 customers exiting stores. Home visits, including administration of home food inventories, were conducted with a sub-sample of frequent shoppers (n=88). Overall, findings indicated significant improvements in healthy food offerings by retailers over time in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, with no significant differences in change between the two cities. Compliance was low; in 2017 only 10% of Minneapolis retailers in the sample were fully compliant, and 51% of participating Minneapolis retailers met at least 8 of the 10 required standards. Few changes were observed in the healthfulness of customer purchases or the healthfulness of home food environments among frequent shoppers, and changes were not different between cities. This study is the first evaluation of a local staple foods ordinance in the U.S. and reflects the challenges and time required for implementing such policies.
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    Data to accompany Longitudinal Fruit and Vegetable Sales in Small Food Retailers: Response to a Novel Local Food Policy and Variation by Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status
    (2020-08-11) Winkler, Megan R; Lenk, Kathleen M; Erickson, Darin J; Caspi, Caitlin E; Laska, Melissa N; mwinkler@umn.edu; Winkler, Megan R; University of Minnesota Healthy Weight Research Center (U of M HWRC)
    Small food retailers, including corner/convenience stores, pharmacies, gas-marts, and dollar stores, have historically stocked limited fruits and vegetables, though this may be changing. We examined increases in sales, customer purchasing, and stocking of fresh and/or frozen fruits and vegetables in small food stores over time and in relation to: (a) a local food policy (the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance) and (b) neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES). We used longitudinal data (2014–2017) from 147 randomly-sampled stores in Minneapolis/St. Paul, USA, collected using interviewer-administered manager surveys (measuring sales and stocking) and customer intercepts/ observations (measuring purchasing, n = 3039). The local policy required Minneapolis stores to meet minimum stocking standards for fresh/frozen produce and other healthy foods. No ordinance existed in St. Paul. Mixed regression models examined overall change over time and change by city and neighborhood SES. We observed significant increases over time (p < 0.05) in sales and purchasing of fresh fruit and in stocking of fresh fruit, frozen fruit, and frozen vegetables. We did not identify consistent statistical evidence for differential change in sales, purchasing, or stocking by city or neighborhood SES. Key study findings suggest limited differential effects of the local ordinance and/or neighborhood SES. However, findings also indicate significant time trends for some products, including consistent improvements in sales, customer purchasing, and stocking of fresh fruit. Given the ready-to-eat convenience of many fresh fruits and their broad appeal, fresh fruit appears a promising target for advancing the healthfulness of small food retailers.
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    State Regulations on Minimum Stocking Requirements for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)–Authorized Retailers: United States, 2017
    (2017-04-17) Pelletier, Jennifer E; Schreiber, Liana RN; Laska, Melissa N; pelle137@umn.edu; Pelletier, Jennifer E
    We obtained minimum stocking requirements for 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2017 from WIC Web pages or e-mail from the state WIC agency. We developed a coding protocol to compare minimum quantities and varieties required for 12 food and beverage categories and published the results in the American Journal of Public Health (2017). We are making the extracted text, coding protocol, and coded values of the state requirements available here as a resource to other researchers and practitioners.