SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program Digital Promotions for Farmers' Markets

Tufts University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy Diet; Food Insecurity; Fruit and Vegetable Intake

Treatments: Behavioral: Digital Promotions Group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT04458350

102728-00001

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of digital promotions of a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fruit and vegetable incentive program on SNAP participant patronage and sales at farmers' markets. The study will analyze SNAP transactions from zip codes that receive digital promotions compared to zip codes that receive no additional promotions.

Full description

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) financial incentives for fruits and vegetables (FV) increase FV purchases and consumption with long-term implications for nutrition-related chronic disease. However, many SNAP participants are not aware of these programs, leaving them underutilized. The investigators aim to assess if digital promotions of SNAP incentive programs increase SNAP patronage and sales at farmers' markets. Eligible farmers' markets in the New England Nutrition Incentives Collaborative (NENIC) will receive digital promotions for their SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive programs on the Fresh EBT app and Facebook, randomly assigned to nearby eligible zip codes. Eligible zip codes will be randomized to receive the intervention (digital promotion) or serve as a comparison (no additional promotion) with ads running for 13 weeks (Summer 2020 market season).

Enrollment: 251,966 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Farmers' markets in the New England Nutrition Incentives Collaborative (NENIC) are eligible to participate if they were data compliant in Summer 2019 (>90% SNAP transactions reported with zip codes) and have 2 or more nearby, target zip codes.
• Zip codes are eligible if their zip code tabulation area (ZCTA) centroid is within a 7-mile (urban county) or 16-mile (rural county) travel distance of eligible NENIC farmers' market and the zip code has at least 25 active users on the Fresh EBT app

Exclusion criteria

• Zip code is not in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

251,966 participants in 2 patient groups

Digital Promotions Group

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible zip codes (n=96) will be randomized using stratified randomization at the state level. The intervention will last 13 weeks (Summer 2020 market season) and consist of receiving digital ads on the Fresh EBT app and Facebook for SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive programs at farmers' markets.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Digital Promotions Group

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

No intervention administered. Eligible zip codes (n=96) will be randomized using stratified randomization at the state level.