Analysis of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Purchases by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participants

Abstract

This study examines the differences of item level sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) purchases between two groups: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households and non-SNAP households. An exploratory study was conducted to examine the differences in SSB purchases between SNAP recipients and non-SNAP participants who have loyalty cards with a major, national food retailer. The total expenditure on item level SSB purchases within the year 2011. A descriptive analysis (counts, frequencies) was conducted. The data was limited to descriptive analysis due to data limitations. SSB purchases differed between SNAP households and non-SNAP households. Non-SNAP households had a larger expenditure on SSBs than SNAP households. However, SSB constituted a somewhat larger percentage of total expenditures for SNAP households than non-SNAP households. For SNAP households, SSB items made up the majority of the top ten beverage purchases. SSB consumption remains problematic in the U.S. and policies and education should be focused on reducing SSB consumption regardless of SNAP status. Rather than pointing to low-income households making poor choices, future research should investigate access to and availability of healthy food options in terms of distance to supermarkets and price and selection of available foods (corner stores).