Fruit and Vegetable Shopping Behavior and Intake among Low-Income Minority Households with Elementary-Aged Children

Brittni N Metoyer; Ru-Jye Chuang; MinJae Lee; Christine Markham; Eric Brown; Maha Almohamad; Jayna M Dave; Shreela V Sharma

doi:10.3390/children10010082

Fruit and Vegetable Shopping Behavior and Intake among Low-Income Minority Households with Elementary-Aged Children

Children (Basel). 2022 Dec 30;10(1):82. doi: 10.3390/children10010082.

Authors

Brittni N Metoyer¹, Ru-Jye Chuang¹, MinJae Lee², Christine Markham³, Eric Brown¹, Maha Almohamad¹, Jayna M Dave⁴, Shreela V Sharma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
² Department of Population and Data Sciences, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
³ Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
⁴ USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Ave, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Abstract

Low-income children and families do not meet the recommendations for fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. This study aimed to assess the association between FV shopping behavior and child FV intake through a cross-sectional study design analyzing self-reported surveys (n = 6074) from adult-child dyads of Hispanic/Latino and African American participants enrolled in the Brighter Bites co-op program. Through quantitative mixed effects linear regression models, accounting for school-level clustering and adjusting for covariates, child FV intake was positively associated with shopping for FV at large chain grocery stores (p < 0.001), natural/organic supermarkets (p < 0.001), warehouse club stores (p = 0.002), discount superstores (p < 0.001), small local stores/corner stores (p = 0.038), convenience stores (p = 0.022), ethnic markets (p = 0.002), farmers’ markets/co-op/school farm stands (p < 0.001), and gardens (p = 0.009) among Hispanic/Latinos participants. Among African American participants, there was significant positive association between child FV intake and shopping for FV at natural/organic supermarkets (p < 0.001), discount superstores (p = 0.005), and convenience stores (p = 0.031). The relationship between location and frequency of shopping for FV and child FV intake varied between races. Further research is needed to better understand the influence of cultural and physical environmental factors. Nutrition education programs are vital to encouraging families to make healthier food choices and purchases to improve child FV consumption.

Keywords: fruit and vegetable intake; health promotion; low-income children; nutrition education; racial inequities; shopping behavior.

Grants and funding

This work is a publication of the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. This project was supported, through federal funds from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Agricultural Research Service under Cooperative Agreement no. 3092-51000-058-2S (JD). The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the USDA, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government.