Browsing by Subject "food policy"
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Item 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 CenterMany 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.Item 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.Item Food and agricultural policy issues(University of Minnesota. Agriculture Extension Service, 1978) Pickrel, LutherItem STORE Study Data Collection Tools(2014-2017) Laska, Melissa; Caspi, Caitlin; Harnack, Lisa; Erickson, Darin; Pelletier, Jennifer;Improving access to healthy food has been identified by the Institute of Medicine, CDC and other national and scientific authorities as a strategy for local governments to help prevent obesity. In the fall of 2014, the city of Minneapolis revised an ordinance requiring all stores with grocery licenses to carry a wide array of healthy foods and beverages in order to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and stocking requirements for WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program vendors. Minneapolis was the first and to date is one of the only cities in the U.S. to have a policy of this kind in place. This type of policy action may have an important impact on food access, particularly in under-served neighborhoods and small food stores that do not currently stock these types of items. This policy is expected to have the greatest impact on small-scale food retailers, such as corner stores and convenience stores, as well as non-traditional food retailers, such as gas-marts, dollar stores, and pharmacies. The purpose of the STaple foods ORdinance Evaluation (STORE) study was to, therefore, evaluate the impact of this local policy change (i.e., the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance). In this study, the impact of the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance was evaluated by assessing objectively measured changes in: a) food environments among small and non-traditional urban food stores, including availability, promotion, advertising, quality, price, and placement of both healthy and unhealthy foods and beverages; b) nutritional quality of consumer purchases at small and non-traditional food stores, including assessment of energy density and calories via customer intercept interviews and direct observation of purchases; and c) home food environments, including availability of healthy and unhealthy foods/beverages and an overall home food obesogenicity score among households that frequently shop at small- to mid-sized food stores. These changes were assessed pre-policy implementation as well as 4-, 12- and 24-months post-policy implementation in Minneapolis and St. Paul (the control community) from 2014 to 2017. Data collected in 2014, during the pre-policy implementation phase, were in the form of objective store assessments, customer intercept interviews, retailer (store owner/manager) interviews, and home visits with customers who frequently shopped in small or non-traditional food stores. Data collected at home visits were interviews, surveys, and dietary assessments, including the Home Food Inventory (Fulkerson et al, IJBNPA, 2008 Nov 4:5: 55).