Vegetable Purchases Research Articles

The Effects of Subsidies for Healthy Foods on Food Purchasing Behaviors, Consumption Patterns, and Obesity/Overweight: A Systematic Review.

Taxing unhealthy foods and drinks is an essential measure against the double burden of malnutrition that affects every nation worldwide. In turn, subsidizing the consumption of healthy foods can also be a critical measure for changing the population's behavior and improving health indicators. A systematic review was conducted of food subsidies and their potential impact on food purchases, consumption, overweight/obesity, and changes in body mass index (BMI). The PubMed, Embase, LILAC, Scientific Electronic Library Online, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify studies investigating the effects of subsidies on the amount of food purchased, food consumption, caloric intake, nutrient intake, and their impact on overweight, obesity, and BMI changes. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Two investigators independently performed data screening, extraction, and quality assessment. Of the 6135 studies screened, 149 were read in full and 18 were included in this systematic review. Most studies investigated the effects of subsidy scenarios on food purchases and observed increases in fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases when these were subsidized. In randomized controlled studies, subsidized healthy foods were purchased more often. However, when the subsidy was suspended, F&V consumption decreased. Although quasi-experimental studies have demonstrated increased F&V consumption due to subsidies, some studies showed increased saturated fat and sodium intake. Only 2 studies evaluated the relationship between subsidies and obesity, yielding conflicting results. Although the subsidies appear to encourage purchase and consumption of healthier foods, enhancing the quality and diversity of dietary choices, the removal of subsidies can lead to a decline in the consumption of healthier foods. Additionally, their impact on obesity and BMI remains uncertain and requires further research. PROSPERO registration by the number CRD42023442122.

Curbing household food waste and associated climate change impacts in an ageing society.

We explored the intricate quantitative structure of household food waste and their corresponding life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from raw materials to retail utilizing a combination of household- and food-related economic statistics and life cycle assessment in Japan. Given Japan's status as a nation heavily impacted by an aging population, this study estimates these indicators for the six age brackets of Japanese households, showing that per capita food waste increases as the age of the household head increases (from 16.6 for the 20's and younger group to 46.0 kg/year for 70's and older in 2015) primarily attributed to the propensity of older households purchase of more fruits and vegetables. Further, the largest life cycle greenhouse gases related to food waste was 90.1 kg-CO2eq/year for those in their 60's while the smallest was 39.2 kg-CO2eq/year for 20's and younger. Furthermore, food waste and associated emissions are expected to decline due to future demographic changes imparted by an aging, shrinking population after 2020 until 2040. Specific measures focused on demographic shifts are crucial for Japan and other countries with similar dietary patterns and demographics to achieve related sustainable development goals through suppressing food waste and associated emissions under new dietary regimes.

Beyond information: The power of personalized nudges in promoting vegetable purchases

This study explores the impact of providing general health-related information and personalized nudges aimed at modifying cognitive biases on enhancing vegetable purchases and consumption. We conducted a four-month natural field experiment and analyzed daily purchase records of 942 households using receipt scanner data. While merely explaining the loss-framed health benefits of vegetables did not significantly alter the overall vegetable purchasing habits, we observed a notable decrease in meat purchases, attributing this to the indirect effects of vegetable information. Additionally, when the status of relative vegetable purchases amount was provided based on personal purchase histories, individuals who initially purchased more vegetables demonstrated an increased buying volume. This effect was more pronounced in households with children than in those without. The nudging interventions had long-term effects beyond the experiment’s duration, possibly driven by an altruistic concern for children’s health within the household. Therefore, while nudges alone are not a complete solution, their ability to effect long-term changes in household purchasing patterns suggests that they can be a valuable addition to policy tools promoting sustainable and healthy food choices, as well as traditional mass-targeted promotion strategies.

Fruit and vegetable self-billing system based on image recognition

Introduction: Shopping centers have become a necessary aspect of living, especially for city dwellers. To realize the identification and settlement of fruits and vegetables lacking bar codes is a major problem in supermarket self-service settlement. Methods: In this study, we proposed a novel Garra Rufa fish-optimized multi-objective convolutional neural network (GRFO-MCNN) for fruit and vegetable detection and freshness recognition. To improve feature identification performance, the GRFO-MCNN integrates the CBAM, which consists of the CAM and the SAM. Freshness recognition and fruit and vegetable detection are greatly enhanced by the CBAM by focusing on pertinent regions of images. Results: The proposed model integrate with the automated settlement system which transform the fruits and vegetable purchases by streamline identification and payment process. The Raspberry Pi, a microcontroller with a camera unit, makes up the suggested model to automate the billing system. For this study, we used a Raspberry Pi module to automatically acquire image data of fruits and vegetables. Conclusions: The suggested approach is contrasted with the other traditional approaches. The result shows the suggested approaches outperformed in accuracy (0.93), MAE (0.11), and RMSE (0.53). The fruits and vegetables that are arranged for automatic weighing are captured by the camera module. The microprocessor receives as an input the cost of various products per kilogram automatically. Consequently, the Raspberry Pi automatically calculates and shows the overall lprice of the products on the monitor

Single-Person Households: Insights from a Household Survey of Fruit and Vegetable Purchases.

Despite the efforts made to promote consumption, some countries are not increasing their fruit and vegetable intake, while household structures are undergoing relevant changes. Fruit and vegetable consumption is necessary but not sufficient for a healthy diet. Previous research has linked adequate fruit and vegetable consumption to a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and some mental health conditions. Furthermore, millions of deaths are reported annually worldwide due to diets low in fruit and vegetables, highlighting their critical public health importance. This study aims to separately analyze the purchases of fruit and vegetables in single-person households. We used three waves of the Family Budget Survey, Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares, in Chile, which is nationally representative of urban areas and includes over 10,000 households in each wave. We employed descriptive statistics to examine the characteristics of the head of household and the food shopper as well as the structure, composition, and overall characteristics of households. Additionally, we performed separate analyses for fruit and vegetable purchases, using these variables to determine the marginal effect on the probability of purchasing fruit or vegetables through probit models. Results show that, from 2011-2012 to 2021-2022, the share of households not purchasing fruit and vegetables increased from 5.0% to 8.4% and that, in single-person households, it rose from 11.2% to 19.1%. Male-headed, single-person households with low education and income were more likely not to purchase fruit, and these households also have decreasing vegetable purchases. Additionally, household income significantly impacts fruit purchases but does not significantly affect vegetable purchases. Our findings highlight the importance of considering single-person households as a target population segment for future public policies to promote fruit and vegetable consumption.

Food Purchasing Behavior of Predominantly Minority Families in an Urban Supermarket Voucher Pilot Program.

The objective of this exploratory community-based trial was to examine the usage and behavior of underserved urban residents participating in a 2-month food voucher program. $70 supermarket vouchers were provided each month for 2 months to participants enrolled in selected child daycare centers in East Harlem, New York, and receipts were collected to examine purchases. Participants were from low-income households with at least 1 child 5 years and younger (n = 113). Participants spent the most on meat, fish, poultry, and eggs (29.7%); fruits and vegetables (15.9%); and cereal and bakery products (15.1%). Fruit and vegetable purchases and dairy purchases were higher in foreign-born participants than in US-born participants. Furthermore, future models should consider the potential benefit of unrestricted vouchers in supporting differences in dietary needs and preferences.

How effective is nutrition training for staff running after school programs in improving quality of food purchased and meal practices? A program evaluation

Objectives / purposeAfter school programs represents a setting for promoting healthy dietary habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate how effective the after school program staff perceived nutrition training aiming to improve quality of food purchased and meal practices. We further aimed to assess the changes in purchase of primarily fish and fish products, whole grains and fruit and vegetables, by collecting receipts from food purchase before and after the intervention.ResultsThis is a mixed methods study. Group interviews with after school staff were carried out and the data was analyzed deductively according to the RE-AIM framework. Receipts from food purchase were collected. Findings from the qualitative interviews indicated that the intervention had been a positive experience for the staff and suggested a new way of working with promoting healthy foods in after school program units. Although there were some challenges reported, the staff made necessary adjustments to make the changes possible to sustain over time. Findings from the receipts support the changes reported by the staff. These showed increased purchase of vegetables, fish, and whole grain in all four after school program units. After school programs in similar settings may expand on these findings to improve the students’ dietary habits.

A Study on Replenishment Decision of Vegetable Commodities Based on Time Series Forecasting and Linear Programming Models

The automatic pricing and replenishment decisions for vegetable products are based on the fact that vegetable products have relatively short shelf lives, and there is a wide variety of vegetable types for sale. Vegetable purchases typically occur in the early morning. Therefore, businesses often rely on historical sales and demand data for each product to make pricing and restocking decisions, even when they do not have exact information about individual item and purchase prices. This article is based on the data provided by the CUMCM to conduct relevant research.

How does eligibility for GusNIP produce prescriptions relate to fruit and vegetable purchases and what factors shape the relationship? A protocol for a secondary analysis of nationally representative data in the USA

IntroductionUS Department of Agriculture (USDA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Programme (GusNIP) produce prescription programme (PPR) ‘prescriptions’ provide eligible participants with low income, risk for diet-related chronic disease and food insecurity...

Research on the Optimization of Pricing and the Replenishment Decision-Making Problem Based on LightGBM and Dynamic Programming

Vegetables have a short period of freshness, and therefore, the purchase of vegetables has to be carefully matched with sales, especially in the “small production and big market” setting prevalent in China. Therefore, it is worthwhile to develop a systematic and comprehensive mathematical model of replenishment plans and pricing strategies for each category of vegetables and individual products. In this paper, we analyze the following three questions: Question One: What is the distribution law and relationship between the sales volume of vegetable categories and single products? Question Two: What is the relationship between total sales volume and cost-plus pricing of vegetable categories? And is it possible to provide the daily total replenishment and pricing strategy of each vegetable category for the following week to maximize supermarket profit? Question Three: How can we incorporate the market demand for single vegetable products into a profit-maximizing program for supermarkets? Is it possible to further formulate the replenishment plan requirements for single products? To answer the first question, we created pivot tables to analyze occupancy. We found that mosaic leaves, peppers, and edible mushrooms accounted for a larger proportion of occupacy, while cauliflowers, aquatic rhizomes, and eggplants accounted for a smaller proportion. For the single items, lettuce, cabbage, green pepper, screw pepper, enoki mushroom, and shiitake mushroom accounted for a large proportion of their respective categories. We used the Pearson correlation coefficient and the Mfuzz package based on fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm to analyze the correlation between vegetable categories and single products. We found that there was a strong correlation between vegetable categories. Moreover, the sale of vegetable items belonging to the same category exhibited the same patterns of change over time. In order to address the second question, we established the LightGBM sales forecasting model. Combined with previous sales data, we forecasted and planned an efficient daily replenishment volume for each vegetable category in the coming week. In addition, we developed a pricing strategy for vegetable categories to maximize supermarket profits. For the third question, we built a dynamic programming model combining an optimal replenishment volume with a product pricing strategy for single items, which let the supermarket maximize its expected profits.

Associations of Increased WIC Benefits for Fruits and Vegetables With Food Security and Satisfaction by Race and Ethnicity.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutrition support for racially and ethnically diverse populations. In 2021, the monthly cash value benefit (CVB) for the purchase of fruits and vegetables increased from $9 to $35 and was later adjusted to $24. This study investigated, by racial and ethnic groups, whether CVB increases were associated with increases in CVB redemption, household food security, child fruit and vegetable intake, satisfaction with CVB amount, and likelihood of continued participation in WIC if the CVB returned to $9 per month. We conducted a longitudinal study of WIC participants (N = 1,770) in southern California at 3 time points, from April 2021 through May 2022; the CVB amount was $9 at baseline, $35 at Survey 2, and $24 at Survey 3. Racial and ethnic groups were Hispanic English-speakers, Hispanic Spanish-speakers, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Other, and non-Hispanic White. We used mixed-effect and modified Poisson regressions to evaluate outcomes by group. At baseline, groups differed significantly in dollars of CVB redeemed, percentage of CVB redeemed, household food security, and satisfaction with CVB amount. After the increase in CVB, we found increases in all groups in CVB redemption, household food security, and satisfaction. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic English-speaking groups, who had low levels of satisfaction at baseline, had larger increases in satisfaction than other groups. Reported likelihood of continued WIC participation if the monthly CVB returned to $9 also differed significantly by group, ranging from 62.5% to 90.0%. The increase in CVB for children receiving WIC benefited all racial and ethnic groups. Continued investment in an augmented CVB could improve health outcomes for a racially and ethnically diverse WIC population.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROMOTING HYDROPONIC VEGETABLES AND PRODUCTS THROUGH INSTAGRAM WITH BRAND AWARENESS AS A MODERATING VARIABLE AT PT. KEBUN SAYUR

PT. Kebunsayur Surabaya promotes hydroponic vegetables and processed products on Instagram but has yet to achieve widespread reach. Popular posts based on monthly reports only get 29 likes; this figure is relatively low for a business account. This research aims to analyze the effectiveness of social media Instagram @kebunsayursurabaya using the EPIC Model and analyze the influence of promotional effectiveness on the volume of consumer purchases of vegetables and hydroponic preparations moderated by brand awareness. The research method used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS), especially with the WarpPLS 8.0 program. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire with a sample of 55 respondents taken using techniques non-probability sampling, namely purposive sampling. The research results show that the promotion of Kebunsayur Surabaya via Instagram is very effective, with a value of 4.39. The effectiveness of the promotion has a positive and significant effect on purchase volume with a path coefficient value of 0,454 and brand awareness moderates the effectiveness of promotion on purchase volume positively and significantly with a path coefficient value of 0,223

Analisis Faktor Pribadi Konsumen sebagai Pengaruh Perilaku Belanja Daring Produk Sayur Organik melalui Platform Digital Marketing

This research aims to analyze the influence of consumer personal factors which include gender, age, education, finances, and employment on buying interest and factual purchases of organic vegetables as well as analyzing the organic vegetable market segment by examining the characteristics of consumers who buy organic vegetables online in Palembang to become as a recommendation for marketing strategies for organic vegetables. The subjects were consumers who bought organic vegetables online at 20 shops that provided online purchases which was 200 respondents in total. The analytical method is K-Means Cluster analysis with the help of the SPPS 27 program and PLS 3.2 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The results show that there is a significant or positive influence of age, education, financial and employment factors on personal factors, and overall personal factors have a significant influence on purchase intention and factual purchases. The consumer market segmentation for organic vegetable products is consumers in productive age, 21 to 60 years old, highly educated, and work as private employees, entrepreneurs, and civil servants and from Palembangese, Javanese, Sundanese, and Malay origins, having a total income of IDR. 2–5 million in range. Moreover, this research is expected to be applied by online organic vegetable sellers to reach bigger market especially to those located in Palembang.

Nudging healthy food choices through e-messages in a supermarket.

This paper analyses the impact of a healthy food nudge intervention on purchases of 1590 customers of a supermarket chain's loyalty program in Uruguay through a randomized controlled trial. Nudges were presented in the form of messages sent through WhatsApp to customers three times a week for 8weeks (between July and September 2020). Messages highlighted the benefits of cooking at home and eating mindfully and healthy (vegetables, fruits, healthy snacks, legumes, and fish), and included easy to implement tips. Results show that, on average, customers assigned to the treatment group increased their purchases of healthy food by 8% and substituted sugar-sweetened for sugar-free beverages. We find an unintended increase in purchases of unhealthy food of 7%, with no correlative increase in calories, suggesting that customers substituted higher calorie products for lower calorie ones. We find that households with lower educational attainment, lower income, and with children under the age of 12 are more likely to increase purchases of fruits and vegetables, while other households are more likely to improve the diet quality without increasing expenditure. Effects do not persist after the intervention is over, suggesting that salience, rather than information is the main channel triggering the effects.

Strengthening nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects: An examination of a capacity building and innovation fund

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is a federal program designed to address financial barriers to fruit and vegetable (FV) purchases among consumers with a low income by using financial incentives. To fur­ther strengthen both nutrition incentive (NI) and produce prescription (PPR) GusNIP projects, the GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Training, Technical Assistance, Evalu­ation, and Information Center (NTAE) and its Nutrition Incentive Hub offer Capacity Building and Innovation Fund (CBIF) awards to GusNIP grantees and their partner organizations. The present study applies multiple methods to systematically understand the types of resources requested by CBIF applicants to expand the capacity and impact of their NI and PPR pro­jects by rigorously analyzing the CBIF proposals submitted from 2020 to 2022. Applicants (N = 130) requested funds to build capacity and innova­tion around one or more domains: leadership and staffing (n = 72); communications (n = 67); diver­sity, equity, and inclusion (DEI; n = 57); and tech­nology (n = 42). Three significant qualitative themes emerged around future needs: (1) staffing and technology to streamline applicants’ projects; (2) training, resources, and funding to enhance DEI in their projects; and (3) improved NTAE support, including improvements to the CBIF funding mechanism. Findings from this study can increase awareness about the capacity building and innovation needs of NI and PPR projects for the NTAE, policymakers, and funders to consider when supporting healthy food financial incentive projects.

Purchasing Vegetables in the Digital Era: A Systematic Literature Review on Online Buying Behavior in E-Commerce

This study aims to examine and analyze consumer behavior in purchasing vegetables online through E-Commerce in Indonesia. This can contribute to the creation of online food product marketing in Indonesia. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted based on studies of purchasing vegetables online through E-Commerce. The data collection method used the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework. The selected articles were relevant to the research objectives (with keywords "Vegetable Purchase" and "Vegetable E-Commerce"). The selection process results showed that out of 171 articles, they met the specified criteria. Consequently, 40 articles were chosen based on the research statement for further review. Findings indicate that various factors, including technology adoption, trust, and social factors, influence consumer behavior in online vegetable purchases in Indonesia. By understanding and meeting consumer needs and expectations and leveraging digital technology, a satisfying shopping experience can be created, thus encouraging repeat purchases.

Principal Component Analysis to Analyze the Factors Influencing the Purchase of Organic Fruits and Vegetables in Telangana

Principal Component Analysis to Analyze the Factors Influencing the Purchase of Organic Fruits and Vegetables in Telangana

ANALISIS PENGARUH HARGA, LOKASI DAN KUALITAS PRODUK TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN BUAH DAN SAYUR DI SUPERMARKET HOKKY PANGLIMA SUDIRMAN SURABAYA

The level of consumption of fruit and vegetables per capita in a year in East Java has increased, but the level of consumption of fruit is still lower than vegetables. The emergence of fruit marketing companies, both supermarkets and shops, resulted in intense competition to overcome the increasing competition in seizing market opportunities. This study analyzes consumer characteristics and analyzes the effect of price, location, and product quality on fruit and vegetable purchasing decisions at Hokky Panglima Sudirman Supermarket Surabaya. This research was conducted at the Hokky Panglima Sudirman Supermarket, Surabaya. The sampling technique was accidental sampling with 80 respondents. The sample criteria used are consumers who buy fruit and vegetables at the Hokky Panglima Sudirman Supermarket, Surabaya. The analysis method uses SEM-PLS with the help of WarpPLS version 8.0 software. The results of this study indicate that price, location, and product quality have a positive and significant effect on fruit and vegetable purchasing decisions at Hokky Panglima Sudirman Supermarket SurabayaKey words: place, price, product quality, purchasing decisions, supermarket

Which Program Implementation Factors Lead to more Fruit and Vegetable Purchases? An Exploratory Analysis of Nutrition Incentive Programs across the United States

BackgroundNutrition incentive (NI) programs help low-income households better afford fruits and vegetables (FVs) by providing incentives to spend on FVs (e.g., spend $10 to receive an additional $10 for FVs). NI programs are heterogeneous in programmatic implementation and operate in food retail outlets, including brick-and-mortar and farm-direct sites. ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore NI program implementation factors and the amount of incentives redeemed. MethodsA total of 28 NI projects across the United States including 487 brick-and-mortar and 1078 farm-direct sites reported data between 2020 and 2021. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses (outcome: incentives redeemed) were applied. ResultsTraditional brick-and-mortar stores had 0.48 times the incentives redeemed compared with small brick-and-mortar stores. At brick-and-mortar sites, automatic discounts had 3.47 times the incentives redeemed compared with physical discounts; and auxiliary services and marketing led to greater redemption. Farm-direct sites using multilingual and direct promotional marketing had greater incentives redeemed. ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first national study to focus on NI program implementation across sites nationwide. Factors identified can help inform future programming and research.

Using a divider nudge in supermarket shopping trolleys to increase fruit and vegetable purchases: A feasibility study using an intervention design.

Fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption is associated with a reduced risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases: however, only one in 16 Australian adults consume F&Vs at the recommended two servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables per day. What and how much people eat is influenced by their social and physical environments. Supermarkets are a key setting influencing food purchases, and as such, they can shape consumption patterns of F&Vs. Implementing effective strategies to increase F&V intake is crucial. The objective of this research was to test the feasibility of covertly modifying shopper purchasing behaviour to purchase more F&Vs using a visual divider nudge message (prompts) covering the entire base of shopping trolleys. Placards provided a visual representation of the recommended proportion of the trolley base that should be allocated to fruits and vegetables (implied social norm). Applying an intervention research design, 30 out of ~100 trolleys were fitted with the placards and shopper purchases were measured by collecting receipts to measure the weight (kg), total spending and F&V specific spending (Australian dollars) for intervention versus control trolleys for one weekend day only. We also conducted a short intercept survey that was administered independently from the research study day on non-trial shoppers. Shoppers who selected trolleys with the divider nudge placards (n = 102) purchased equal weight of F&Vs (Intervention: mean = 6.25 kg, SD = 5.60 kg, 95% CI = 5.14 kg, 7.35 kg, vs. Control: mean 6.03 kg, SD = 5.17 kg, 95% CI = 5.01 kg, 7.04 kg, p = 0.768) and spent equal amounts on F&Vs compared to shoppers in the control group (n = 102) (Intervention: mean = $41.46, SD = $36.68, 95% CI = $34.25, $48.66, vs. Control: mean $39.85, SD = $33.30, 95% CI = $33.34, $46.39, p = 0.744). There was no difference in the total spending between groups (Intervention: mean = $135.99, SD = $90.10, 95% CI = $118.29, $153.68, vs. Control: mean $155.68, SD = $96.46, 95% CI = $136.73, $174.63, p = 0.133). The divider nudge placard did not lead to any difference in shoppers' purchases of F&Vs. However, this study demonstrates the feasibility of testing a cheap, simple and easy supermarket nutrition intervention. Larger studies are required to elucidate and confirm these findings over the longer term.