Changes in Grocery Shopping Behavior among Low-Income Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) authorized the use of SNAP benefits online in Maryland in May 2020. We assessed shopping behavior and intentions associated with uptake and intended future use of online grocery shopping during and after COVID-19 among SNAP-eligible households.

Design: In this mixed-methods study, participants completed a survey on online grocery shopping, and a purposefully sampled subset participated in focus groups or in-depth interviews between November 2020 and March 2021.

Durvalumab With or Without Tremelimumab in Combination With Chemotherapy in First-Line Metastatic NSCLC: Five-Year Overall Survival Outcomes From the Phase 3 POSEIDON Trial.

Introduction: The primary analysis (median follow-up 34.9 mo across all arms) of the phase 3 POSEIDON study revealed a statistically significant overall survival (OS) improvement with first-line tremelimumab plus durvalumab and chemotherapy (T+D+CT) versus CT in patients with EGFR and ALK wild-type metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC). D+CT had a trend for OS improvement versus CT that did not reach statistical significance.

Impact of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on Perceived Beverage Healthfulness, Tax Awareness, and Tax Opinions.

Objective: To assess the impact of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax on perceived beverage healthfulness, and awareness and opinions of the tax.

Design: Natural experiment SETTING: Small independent stores in Philadelphia (n = 61) and Baltimore (untaxed control site; n = 65) PARTICIPANTS: Shoppers in Philadelphia (n = 2,731) and Baltimore (n = 4,600) pre- and post-tax implementation.

Main Outcome Measures: Perceptions of 4 beverages (unhealthy vs healthy/neutral), tax awareness, and tax opinions (oppose vs favor/neutral).

Dietary intake of low-income adults in South Africa: ultra-processed food consumption a cause for concern.

Objective: Given the rapidly changing food environment and proliferation of ultra-processed foods (UPF) in South Africa (SA), this study aimed to critically evaluate dietary quality and adequacy of low-income adults using the Nova classification system and WHO and World Cancer Research Fund dietary guidelines.

Design: Secondary household data and 1-d 24-h recalls were analysed from two cross-sectional studies conducted in 2017-2018. Foods consumed were classified according to the Nova classification system.

Understanding Whether Price Tag Messaging Can Amplify the Benefits of Taxes: An Online Experiment.

Introduction: Excise taxes on unhealthy products like sugary drinks and tobacco can reduce purchases of these products. However, little research has investigated whether messages at the point of purchase, such as enhanced price tags, can increase the effects of taxes by heightening psychological reactions. This study aimed to examine whether including messages about taxes on price tags could amplify the benefits of excise taxes on unhealthy products.

Advertising and Stocking at Small Retailers: A Sweetened Beverage Excise Tax in Philadelphia.

Introduction: In 2017, Philadelphia enacted a $0.015 per ounce excise tax on SBs that covered both sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially-sweetened beverages, which reduced purchasing and consumption. This study assessed whether the tax also changed beverage advertising or stocking practices that could influence consumer behavior among stores in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Philadelphia-adjacent counties not subject to the tax.

Leveraging Multiyear, Geospatial Social Media Data for Health Policy Evaluations: Lessons From the Philadelphia Beverage Tax.

Context: Public reactions to health policies are vital to understand policy sustainability and impact but have been elusively difficult to dynamically measure. The 2021 launch of the Twitter Academic Application Programming Interface (API), allowing for historical tweet analyses, represents a potentially powerful tool for complex, comprehensive policy analyses.

Objective: Using the Philadelphia Beverage Tax (implemented January 2017) as a case study, this research extracted longitudinal and geographic changes in sentiments, and key influencers in policy-related conversations.

A Systematic Review of Marketing Practices Used in Online Grocery Shopping: Implications for WIC Online Ordering.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) plans to allow participants to redeem their food package benefits online, i.e., online ordering.

Protecting Low-Income Consumers in the Era of Digital Grocery Shopping: Implications for WIC Online Ordering.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is now expected to allow participants to redeem their food benefits online, i.e., via online ordering, rather than only in-store.

Sugar-sweetened beverage purchases in urban Peru before the implementation of taxation and warning label policies: a baseline study.

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with obesity and chronic disease. In 2018, Peru increased the tax on high-sugar beverages (≥6 g of sugar per 100 mL) from 17 to 25%, yet little is known about pre-existing beverage trends or demographic characteristics associated with purchases in the country. The aim of this study was to explore beverage purchasing trends from 2016 to 2017 and examine variation in purchase volume by sociodemographic characteristics among urban households in Peru.

Equity-Promoting Strategies in Online Grocery Shopping: Recommendations Provided by Households of Low Income.

Objective: To explore barriers and facilitators of online grocery shopping and identify community-driven strategies to promote equity in online food access.

Design: This qualitative study used a purposive recruitment strategy to conduct 11 focus groups and 5 in-depth interviews between November 2020 and March 2021.

Setting: Data collection was conducted virtually with participants residing in diverse (majority urban) regions of Maryland.

Grocery Purchase Changes Were Associated With A North Carolina COVID-19 Food Assistance Incentive Program.

Many low-income Americans experience food insecurity, which may have been exacerbated by economic instability during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In this study we assessed the impact of Healthy Helping, a short-term fruit and vegetable incentive program aimed at alleviating food insecurity and improving diet quality for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants, on grocery purchases, using transaction data from a large supermarket chain in North Carolina. We compared Healthy Helping participants' purchases of key food groups before and during the program with purchases by control shoppers participating in federal food assistance programs during the same period.

Giving Families a Voice for Equitable Healthy Food Access in the Wake of Online Grocery Shopping.

Understanding the views of families from low-income backgrounds about inequities in healthy food access and grocery purchase is critical to food access policies. This study explored perspectives of families eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on healthy food access in physical and online grocery environments. The qualitative design used purposive sampling of 44 primary household food purchasers with children (aged ≤ 8), between November 2020-March 2021, through 11 online focus groups and 5 in-depth interviews.

A click too far from fresh foods: A mixed methods comparison of online and in-store grocery behaviors among low-income households.

A recent policy in the U.S. authorized monthly benefits from a nutrition assistance program - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - to be used online to increase grocery access and promote healthy eating.

South Africa's Health Promotion Levy on Pricing and Acquisition of Beverages in Local Spazas and Supermarkets.

Objective: In response to concern over rising sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, in April 2018, South Africa became the first Sub-Saharan African country to implement an SSB tax. We assess changes in pricing and acquisition of beverages from local supermarkets and small stores among 18-39 year old adults living in one township in the Western Cape, before and after tax implementation. This study is among the first evaluations of an SSB tax on the local food environment in a low-income township.

Experiences Engaging Family Members in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Nutrition: A Survey of Global Health Professionals.

Background: Family members influence maternal, child, and adolescent nutrition and are increasingly engaged in nutrition interventions and research. However, there remain gaps in the literature related to programmatic experiences and lessons learned from engaging these key influencers in nutrition activities.

Objectives: This research aimed to document global health professionals' experiences engaging family members in nutrition activities, and their perceived barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for nutrition activities that engage family members.

An equity-oriented systematic review of online grocery shopping among low-income populations: implications for policy and research.

Context: Online grocery services are an emerging component of the food system with the potential to address disparities in access to healthy food.

Objective: We assessed the barriers and facilitators of equitable access to healthy foods in the online grocery environment, and the psychosocial, purchasing, and dietary behaviors related to its use among low-income, diverse populations.

Data Sources: Four electronic databases were searched to identify relevant literature; 16 studies were identified.

Purchases of Nontaxed Foods, Beverages, and Alcohol in a Longitudinal Cohort After Implementation of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax.

Background: Evidence suggests that sweetened beverage taxes reduce taxed beverage purchases, but few studies have used individual-level data to assess whether these taxes affect purchases of nontaxed foods, beverages, and alcohol. Additionally, research has not examined whether sweetened beverage taxes influence restaurant purchases.

Objectives: We assessed changes in individuals' purchases of taxed beverage types; low-calorie/low-added-sugar nontaxed beverages; high-calorie/high-added-sugar nontaxed beverages, foods, and alcohol; and beverages from restaurants following implementation of the 1.

Claims on Ready-to-Eat Cereals: Are Those With Claims Healthier?

The use of advertising content strategies that suggest consuming a product will confer nutrient- and health-related benefits influences household food purchasing decisions, which increases consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor products. We examined the presence of marketing claims regarding nutrient content, health and nature in ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal packages in relation to the products' nutritional quality. A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted on 178 RTE cereal packages available in the six largest supermarket chains in four Colombian cities from August to November 2018.

Analysis of Public Testimony About Philadelphia's Sweetened Beverage Tax.

Introduction: Although interest in beverage taxes has increased in recent years, industry opposition and other challenges have limited their spread in the U.S. Because beverage tax proposals are often unsuccessful, there is limited empirical evidence to inform advocacy efforts.

Association of a Sweetened Beverage Tax With Purchases of Beverages and High-Sugar Foods at Independent Stores in Philadelphia.

Importance: The relationship between a sweetened beverage tax and changes in the prices and purchases of beverages and high-sugar food is understudied in the long term and in small independent food retail stores where sugar-sweetened beverages are among the most commonly purchased items.

Objective: To examine whether a 1.5 cent-per-fluid-ounce excise tax on sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was associated with sustained changes in beverage prices and purchases, as well as calories purchased from beverages and high-sugar foods, over 2 years at small independent stores.

No Evidence of Food or Alcohol Substitution in Response to a Sweetened Beverage Tax.

Introduction: Evidence suggests real-world beverage taxes reduce sweetened beverage purchases, but it is unknown if consumers consequently increase food or alcohol purchases. This study examines whether Philadelphia's 1.5 cents/ounce beverage tax was associated with substitution to 3 kinds of hypothesized substitutes: snacks, nontaxed beverage concentrates, and alcohol.

Reformulation of Packaged Foods and Beverages in the Colombian Food Supply.

Public discussion, advocacy, and legislative consideration of policies aimed at reducing consumption of processed foods, such as sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes and mandatory front-of-package (FOP) warning labels, may stimulate product reformulation as a strategy to prevent regulation. In Colombia, there have been major legislative pushes for SSB taxes and FOP labels, although neither has passed to date. In light of the ongoing policy debate and successful implementation of similar policies in Peru and Chile, we explored manufacturer reformulation in the Colombian food supply.

The Association Of A Sweetened Beverage Tax With Changes In Beverage Prices And Purchases At Independent Stores.

In January 2017 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, implemented an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on beverages sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Small independent stores are an important yet understudied setting.