Support for Policies and Strategies to Promote Healthy Food Retail In-Store and Online: Perspectives From a National Sample of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participants

Objective: Gather perspectives on healthy retail policies and strategies from a national sample of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.

Design: Anonymous web-based survey fielded in English and Spanish. The survey measured support for healthy retail policies and strategies.

Setting: National Qualtrics panel fielded on September 30 and October 19, 2022.

Participants: A total of 1,559 adult SNAP participants (in the last 12 months) participated in the Qualtrics SNAP survey panel.

Variables measured: Overall support for retail policies and strategies was calculated using response frequencies and proportions.

Analysis: Cross-tabulations and chi-square tests of independence assessed differences in policy support by online shopping behavior and nutrition security status. Significance was determined at P < 0.05.

Results: Most SNAP participants were broadly supportive of policies and strategies to improve the healthy food retail environment. More restrictive policies were less popular than policies that expanded consumer choice. Support also varied by online shopping status and nutrition security status.

Conclusions and implications: Policies and strategies that improve the healthy food retail environment are popular among a national sample of SNAP participants. Policy discussions must understand SNAP participants' perspectives regarding changes to the retail environment that may impact their ability to access healthy foods.