Reducing food insecurity and improving fruit and vegetable intake through a nutrition incentive program in Michigan, USA

BACKGROUND: Nutrition incentive (NI) programs increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables (FVs) among low-income participants. Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) is a robust statewide NI program in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to report findings from DUFB in Michigan describing the factors related to FV intake (FVI) and food insecurity among participants in a NI program. METHODS: We administered a repeated cross-sectional survey with a convenience sample of DUFB participants at farmers markets and grocery stores (over the 2016, 2017, 2018 seasons). The survey was conducted online via paper-pencil. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. A logistic regression model estimated household food insecurity and a linear regression estimated FVI with DUFB use/perceptions, sociodemographics, and health status as independent variables (significance level = p < 0.05). RESULTS: Descriptive results revealed that participants that completed surveys at grocery stores tended to be more racially-ethnically diverse and younger than participants that completed surveys at farmers markets. Participants with lower length of time participating in DUFB (i.e., lower dose) (p < 0.001), greater FV purchases (p < 0.05), and lower perceived health status (p < 0.001) tended to report being food insecure more frequently. Participants with increased length of time participating in DUFB (p < 0.05), greater FV purchases (p < 0.001), being male (p < 0.01), and greater perceived health status (p < 0.001) tended to report higher levels of FVI more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Longer participation in DUFB leads to improved outcomes with FVI and food security, suggesting that NI programs do have the intended positive impact they were designed to achieve.