Abstract
We assessed the consumer food environment in rural areas by using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS–S) to measure the availability, price, and quality of fruits and vegetables. We randomly selected 20 grocery stores (17 rural, 3 urban) in 12 Montana counties using the 2013 US Department of Agriculture’s rural–urban continuum codes. We found significant differences in NEMS–S scores for quality of fruits and vegetables; of 6 possible points, the mean quality score was 4.5; of rural stores, the least rural stores had the highest mean quality scores (6.0). Intervention strategies should aim to increase fruit and vegetable quality in rural areas.
Highlights
We assessed the consumer food environment in rural areas by using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS–S) to measure the availability, price, and quality of fruits and vegetables
Study sites were randomly selected on the basis of the 2013 US Department of Agriculture’s rural–urban continuum codes (RUCCs) [7]
We found significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics by county (Table 1)
Summary
We assessed the consumer food environment in rural areas by using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS–S) to measure the availability, price, and quality of fruits and vegetables. We randomly selected 20 grocery stores (17 rural, 3 urban) in 12 Montana counties using the 2013 US Department of Agriculture’s rural–urban continuum codes. We found significant differences in NEMS–S scores for quality of fruits and vegetables; of 6 possible points, the mean quality score was 4.5; of rural stores, the least rural stores had the highest mean quality scores (6.0). Intervention strategies should aim to increase fruit and vegetable quality in rural areas
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