SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program Digital Promotions for Farmers' Markets

October 27, 2020 updated by: Parke Wilde, Tufts University

Impact of Randomized Digital Promotions of SNAP Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program on Farmers' Market Patronage and Sales

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of digital promotions of a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fruit and vegetable incentive program on SNAP participant patronage and sales at farmers' markets. The study will analyze SNAP transactions from zip codes that receive digital promotions compared to zip codes that receive no additional promotions.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) financial incentives for fruits and vegetables (FV) increase FV purchases and consumption with long-term implications for nutrition-related chronic disease. However, many SNAP participants are not aware of these programs, leaving them underutilized. The investigators aim to assess if digital promotions of SNAP incentive programs increase SNAP patronage and sales at farmers' markets. Eligible farmers' markets in the New England Nutrition Incentives Collaborative (NENIC) will receive digital promotions for their SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive programs on the Fresh EBT app and Facebook, randomly assigned to nearby eligible zip codes. Eligible zip codes will be randomized to receive the intervention (digital promotion) or serve as a comparison (no additional promotion) with ads running for 13 weeks (Summer 2020 market season).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

251966

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111
        • Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Farmers' markets in the New England Nutrition Incentives Collaborative (NENIC) are eligible to participate if they were data compliant in Summer 2019 (>90% SNAP transactions reported with zip codes) and have 2 or more nearby, target zip codes.
  • Zip codes are eligible if their zip code tabulation area (ZCTA) centroid is within a 7-mile (urban county) or 16-mile (rural county) travel distance of eligible NENIC farmers' market and the zip code has at least 25 active users on the Fresh EBT app

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Zip code is not in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Digital Promotions Group
Eligible zip codes (n=96) will be randomized using stratified randomization at the state level. The intervention will last 13 weeks (Summer 2020 market season) and consist of receiving digital ads on the Fresh EBT app and Facebook for SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive programs at farmers' markets.
Behavioral: Digital Promotions Group
Digital promotions on the Fresh EBT app and Facebook will run for 13 weeks, advertising a SNAP fruit and vegetable incentive at farmers' markets in New England. The intervention will be applied to zip codes randomized to the intervention arm.
No Intervention: Control Group
No intervention administered. Eligible zip codes (n=96) will be randomized using stratified randomization at the state level.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average number of market SNAP transactions by zip code for Summer 2020
Time Frame: 13 weeks
Participating farmers' markets record individual SNAP transactions, including zip code, and upload transaction data to FM Tracks, an online platform for managing farmers' market sales. Average number of SNAP transactions will be computed.
13 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average market SNAP-related sales by zip code for Summer 2020
Time Frame: 13 weeks
Participating farmers' markets record individual SNAP transactions, including zip code, and upload transaction data to FM Tracks, an online platform for managing farmers' market sales. Average SNAP Electronic Benefit sales and incentives distributed (in dollars) will be computed.
13 weeks
Average market new SNAP customers by zip code for Summer 2020
Time Frame: 13 weeks
Participating farmers' markets record individual SNAP transactions, including zip code, and upload transaction data to FM Tracks, an online platform for managing farmers' market sales. Average number of new customers will be computed.
13 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Tufts University

Collaborators

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

July 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 30, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 2, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 28, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 27, 2020

Last Verified

October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 102728-00001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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