@article{Parker_Hedrick_Hedges_Borst_Ledlie Johnson_Best_Misyak_2021, place={Ithaca, NY, USA}, title={SNAP participants’ purchasing patterns at a food co-op during the COVID-19 pandemic: A preliminary analysis}, volume={10}, url={https://foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/956}, DOI={10.5304/jafscd.2021.102.043}, abstractNote={<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the food system, increasing barriers to food access and exac­erbating food insecurity across the U.S. The Vir­ginia state government initiated a stay-at-home order to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Prior to the pandemic, the Virginia Fresh Match (VFM) Nutrition Incentive Network partnered with food retail outlets to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants point-of-purchase incentives (e.g., Double Up Food Bucks, SNAP Match), which function as matching discounts on fresh fruits and vegetables (F/V). These can enable participants to increase their purchasing power and potentially reduce food insecurity. In response to COVID-19, VFM removed the limit on incentive discounts (previ­ously $10<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>) to further incentivize the purchase of fresh F/V by SNAP participants. This study sought to characterize the purchasing patterns of SNAP participants at a food co-operative (co-op) partnered with VFM before and during the Virginia stay-at-home order. A total of 654 transactions at the co-op were included. Independent t-tests were utilized to determine differences before and during the order. The results indicated a significant in­crease in the mean incentive discount received dur­ing the order (pre-shutdown=$3.95, inter-shut­down=$5.01, <em>p=</em>0.035); however, simultaneously there was a decrease in the mean number of fresh F/V purchased (pre-shutdown=3.08, inter-shut­down=2.39, <em>p=</em>0.015). Although F/V purchases decreased, the presence of unlimited point-of-pur­chase incentives at the food co-op may have helped prevent a greater decline in fresh F/V pur­chases and helped increase access to fresh F/V in this population during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> All currency in this paper is US$.</p>}, number={2}, journal={Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development}, author={Parker, Molly and Hedrick, Valisa and Hedges, Sam and Borst, Elizabeth and Ledlie Johnson, Meredith and Best, Maureen and Misyak, Sarah}, year={2021}, month={Apr.}, pages={147–156} }