• Amy E Lo, Neal Curran, Sierra Mullen, and Shu Wen Ng.
• Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States of America.
• Prev Med. 2024 Oct 1; 187: 108097108097.

ObjectivesTo assess if participation in a North Carolina produce prescription program for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants with diet-sensitive health conditions (SuperSNAP) is associated with changes in purchase composition and spending source.MethodsThis study used loyalty-card transaction data (October 2019-April 2022). We applied a linear mixed-effects model with overlap weights to perform a difference-indifferences analysis of purchases by SuperSNAP program enrollees compared to the control group.ResultsThe sample included 1440 SuperSNAP shoppers and 45,851 control shoppers. Compared to shoppers only on SNAP, SuperSNAP shoppers spent $82.98 (95% CI (75.6, 90.3), p-value <0.001) more per month, $76.09 (95% CI (69.4, 82.8), pvalue <0.001) of which were spent strictly on food and beverage products. Among SuperSNAP shoppers, out of the $40 SuperSNAP benefit each month, an estimated $34.86 (95% CI (33.9, 35.8), p-value <0.001) of it was spent on fruits and vegetables.ConclusionsThis study shows the promise of targeted produce prescription programs for SNAP participants in encouraging shifts in purchase composition.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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