Baseline Assessment of a Healthy Corner Store Initiative: Associations between Food Store Environments, Shopping Patterns, Customer Purchases, and Dietary Intake in Eastern North Carolina.

Stephanie B Jilcott Pitts,Lindsey Haynes-Maslow,Alice S Ammerman,Ronny A Bell,Taras Grinchak,Kimberly P Truesdale,Qiang Wu,Jared T Mcguirt,Melissa N Laska

doi:10.3390/ijerph14101189

Abstract

In 2016, the North Carolina (NC) Legislature allocated $250,000 to the NC Department of Agriculture, to identify and equip small food retailers to stock healthier foods and beverages in eastern NC food deserts (the NC Healthy Food Small Retailer Program, HFSRP). The purpose of this study was to examine associations between food store environments, shopping patterns, customer purchases, and dietary consumption among corner store customers. We surveyed 479 customers in 16 corner stores regarding demographics, food purchased, shopping patterns, and self-reported fruit, vegetable, and soda consumption. We objectively assessed fruit and vegetable consumption using a non-invasive reflection spectroscopy device to measure skin carotenoids. We examined associations between variables of interest, using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and adjusted linear regression analyses. A majority (66%) of participants were African American, with a mean age of 43 years, and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 kg/m2. There were no significant associations between the healthfulness of food store offerings, customer purchases, or dietary consumption. Participants who said they had purchased fruits and vegetables at the store previously reported higher produce intake (5.70 (4.29) vs. 4.60 (3.28) servings per day, p = 0.021) versus those who had not previously purchased fresh produce. The NC Legislature has allocated another $250,000 to the HFSRP for the 2018 fiscal year. Thus, evaluation results will be important to inform future healthy corner store policies and initiatives.

Highlights

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with lower rates of obesity [1,2,3], some cancers [4], cardiovascular disease [5,6], type 2 diabetes [7], and all-cause mortality [8,9]
Healthy small food store or corner store initiatives have proliferated as potential solutions to increase healthy food access and consumption, especially among disadvantaged populations [17,18]
Studies of associations between food store environments, customer purchases, and dietary intake have been conducted in supermarket settings [22,23], with findings indicating that the price of food and beverage options in supermarkets is associated with food consumption and body mass index (BMI) [22,23]

Summary

Introduction

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with lower rates of obesity [1,2,3], some cancers [4], cardiovascular disease [5,6], type 2 diabetes [7], and all-cause mortality [8,9]. Promoting healthy foods and beverages in corner stores can positively impact population-level dietary behaviors, since corner stores often stock and promote unhealthy foods and beverages, and customers frequently purchase these unhealthy foods and beverages [19,20]. Healthy small store initiatives have been successful at promoting healthier dietary practices and intentions in numerous studies, though others have not shown changes in dietary practices and shopping behaviors [17,18,21]. These mixed results could be due to inaccurate and inconsistent measurement of store purchases and dietary consumption. Studies of associations between food store environments, customer purchases, and dietary intake have been conducted in supermarket settings [22,23], with findings indicating that the price of food and beverage options in supermarkets is associated with food consumption and body mass index (BMI) [22,23]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion