Heterogeneity in grocery shopping patterns among low-income minority women in public housing

BACKGROUND: Public housing residents, who tend to be predominantly female and racial/ethnic minorities, are at a particularly high risk for chronic health conditions. Prior studies have suggested that a lack of access to healthy and affordable food may be an important barrier in public housing communities, but evidence is mixed on the association between the neighborhood food environment and dietary quality, suggesting the need to examine food access patterns in low-income, minority communities more deeply. The purpose of this study was to examine the variability in grocery shopping patterns, and the factors that predict them, among low-income minority women in public housing. METHODS: Interviewer-administered surveys and body composition measurements were collected in the Watts Neighborhood Health Study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of low-income urban public housing residents located in South Los Angeles. Descriptive analyses were conducted to understand the variation in grocery shopping patterns among women. Logistic and ordered logistic regression models were estimated to examine the association between resident characteristics and grocery shopping patterns. RESULTS: There was considerable variability in grocery shopping patterns, including the types of grocery stores accessed, distance travelled, frequency of shopping, and reasons behind grocery store choice. Grocery shopping patterns were associated with several participant characteristics, including race/ethnicity, working status, access to a car, income, and education. Hispanic participants were less likely to shop at a supermarket, travel further distances to shop, shop more frequently, and were more likely to prioritize price in their choice of primary grocery store than non-Hispanic Black women participants. CONCLUSIONS: There was considerable variability in grocery shopping patterns, even within this low-income, minority community despite access to the same neighborhood food environment. Convenience and quality, in addition to price, were priorities for choice of primary grocery store, and differences by race/ethnicity suggest that initiatives to improve the neighborhood food environment should consider quality of food, cultural factors, and availability of foods desired by the surrounding community, in addition to price and proximity of grocery stores. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14003-0.