Clinical trial NCT02774330: Impact of the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance
Official title: Impact of a Local Staple Foods Ordinance on Food Choice and Calories Purchased
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Food Policy
Lead sponsor: University of Minnesota
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
name: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
First posted: 2016-05-17
Enrollment: 3488
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: OTHER
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Customers exiting small- to mid-size food stores after having purchased a food or beverage item

Brief summary: Improving healthy food availability and decreasing the availability of high calorie, low nutrient products, particularly in underserved communities, has been identified as a leading strategy for local governments to prevent obesity. However, policy action in this area to date has been limited. This R01 will examine the impact of a local policy change that establishes minimum stocking criteria for a wide array of healthy foods as a requirement of food store licensing. To our knowledge, this is the only policy of its kind in the US. As such, if it is successful, it could serve as an important model policy for other local governments seeking to increase healthy food availability and prevent obesity through local policy action.

Detailed description: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a local policy change (i.e., the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance) that establishes minimum stocking criteria for a wide array of healthy foods as a requirement of food store licensing. Recent calls to action from the Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other authorities have identified improving access to healthy foods as a primary strategy for local governments to use in advancing obesity prevention efforts, but policy initiatives in this area have been limited. In this study, the impact of the Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance will be evaluated by assessing objectively measured changes in: (a) food environments among small- to mid-sized, urban food stores, including availability, promotion, advertising, quality, price, and placement of both healthy and unhealthy foods and beverages, (b) nutritional quality of consumer purchases at small food stores, including assessment of energy density and calories via customer intercept surveys and direct observation of purchases and (c) home food environments, including availability of healthy and unhealthy foods/beverages and an overall home food obesogenicity score, among households that frequently shop at small- to mid-sized stores. These changes will be assessed pre-policy implementation, as well as 4-, 12- and 24-months post-policy implementation, in two Minnesota cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, (our control community). The proposed scope of work in this study is important because its takes advantage of a unique opportunity to evaluate an innovative local policy addressing a recommended action area for obesity prevention that aligns with key recommendations by leading obesity prevention authorities. To our knowledge, the Minneapolis Staple Food Ordinance is the only policy of its kind in the US, and as such it could serve as an important model policy for other local governments if it is successful.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Must be 18 years of age or older
* Must be able to speak and understand English
* Must have purchased at least one food or beverage item from a randomly selected store that meets the following criteria:
* Outside the central downtown commercial core
* Not authorized to accept benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
* Valid licensing address
* \>100 square feet of retail floor space
* Not small vendors in market areas or specialty stores
* Non-supermarket
* Permission from store staff to recruit participants

Exclusion Criteria:

* Not meeting inclusion criteria

Primary outcomes:
measure: Healthy Food Supply (store-level)
timeFrame: 24 months post-policy implementation (i.e., 12-months post-policy enforcement)
measure: Calories purchased (customer-level)
timeFrame: 24 months post-policy implementation (i.e., 12-months post-policy enforcement)
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
measure: Healthy home food availability/obesogenicity score (customer-level)
timeFrame: 24 months post-policy implementation (i.e., 12-months post-policy enforcement)
Locations:
city: Minneapolis
country: United States
facility: University of Minnesota, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
state: Minnesota
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Minnesota
name: Melissa N Laska, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Caspi CE, Winkler MR, Lenk KM, Harnack LJ, Erickson DJ, Laska MN. Store and neighborhood differences in retailer compliance with a local staple foods ordinance. BMC Public Health. 2020 Feb 4;20(1):172. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8174-2.
citation: Laska MN, Caspi CE, Lenk K, Moe SG, Pelletier JE, Harnack LJ, Erickson DJ. Evaluation of the first U.S. staple foods ordinance: impact on nutritional quality of food store offerings, customer purchases and home food environments. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019 Sep 18;16(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s12966-019-0818-1.
citation: Caspi CE, Lenk K, Pelletier JE, Barnes TL, Harnack L, Erickson DJ, Laska MN. Association between store food environment and customer purchases in small grocery stores, gas-marts, pharmacies and dollar stores. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017 Jun 5;14(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0531-x.