Clinical trial NCT02976389: Southern California Nutrition Incentive Program
Official title: Southern California Nutrition Incentive Program
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Food Insecurity
Keywords: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Food insecurity
fruit and vegetable
healthy diet
Lead sponsor: University of California, San Diego
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: The California Endowment
name: The Ecology Center
name: Center for Good Food Purchasing
name: Northgate Gonzalez Markets
name: Latino Health Access
name: California Department of Health Services
name: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
First posted: 2016-11-29
Enrollment: 3780
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The specific aims of this proposal are to implement SCNIP in 6 Northgate Gonzalez Markets across San Diego, Orange and LA counties (2 in each county), and determine which level of financial incentive rebate (specifically, $10/month, $20/month, or $40/month) optimally increases the purchase and consumption of SNAP eligible fruits and vegetables.

Detailed description: The University of California San Diego (UCSD) Center for Community Health, in collaboration with Northgate Gonzalez Markets and its regional partners, will implement a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties - the Southern California Nutrition Incentive Program (SCNIP). This program will develop, implement and evaluate a multi-tiered model that will enable low-income, SNAP-eligible consumers to make healthier food choices and purchase more fruits and vegetables. This model will include: tier 1) an innovative fruit and vegetable financial incentive rebate program that utilizes the consumer's Northgate Gonzalez Market customer loyalty card, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, and electronic wallet (e-wallet); tier 2) fruit and vegetable promotions that include discount pricing; and tier 3) SNAP-Ed programming (e.g., in-store cooking classes, tours, and healthy food self-labeling system) to educate and support the purchasing behaviors of SNAP-eligible families. Through the use of the customer loyalty card, EBT card, and e-wallet, the rebate program will be able to track the purchase of SCNIP eligible fruits and vegetables and provide a rebate at the point-of-sale that can be used to purchase additional fruits and vegetables, thus increasing the purchasing power of SNAP-eligible families for healthy food options. Earned and dispensed rebate dollars will be stored on the e-wallet enabling the tracking of purchasing behaviors and dollars spent on healthy fruits and vegetables in this program. With this data, we will be able to determine what level of financial incentive rebate ($10/month, $20/month, or $40/month) (tier 1) optimally increased SNAP families' per capita spending on fruits and vegetables in conjunction with the fruit and vegetable promotions (tier 2) and nutrition education activities (tier 3).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Northgate Gonzalez Market customer who currently receives SNAP benefits and has a valid EBT card
* 18 years of age or older
* Speaks and reads in English or Spanish
* Shops at the selected Northgate Gonzalez Market regularly, at least two times per month

Exclusion Criteria:

* Does not receive SNAP benefits
* Unable to complete surveys in English or Spanish
* Another immediate family member living in the same household is already recruited into the study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Dollars spent on Fruits and Vegetables
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Quantity of Fruits and Vegetables
timeFrame: 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Dietary intake
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Six-item short form of the Food Security Survey Module
timeFrame: 1 year
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: La Jolla
country: United States
facility: University of California, San Diego
state: California
Study officials:
References: