Publications by authors named "Neal Curran"

Objectives: To assess if participation in a North Carolina produce prescription program for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants with diet-sensitive health conditions (SuperSNAP) is associated with changes in purchase composition and spending source.

Methods: This study used loyalty-card transaction data (October 2019-April 2022). We applied a linear mixed-effects model with overlap weights to perform a difference-indifferences analysis of purchases by SuperSNAP program enrollees compared to the control group.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

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.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Food insecurity is associated with a less healthy diet. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is associated with reduced food insecurity, but benefit levels may be insufficient for beneficiaries to afford healthy foods.

Objective: To evaluate whether participation in SuperSNAP, a program that provides an additional $40 per month for the purchase of fruits and vegetables with no added sugar, sodium, or fat to SNAP beneficiaries, is associated with changes in food purchasing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To evaluate a Produce Prescription Programme’s utilisation and its effects on healthy food purchasing and diabetes control among participants with type 2 diabetes.

Design: Prospective cohort study using participants’ electronic health records and food transaction data. Participants were categorised as ‘Frequent Spenders’ and ‘Sometimes Spenders’ based on utilisation frequency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cloud computing has been increasingly adopted by users and providers to promote a flexible, scalable and tailored access to computing resources. Nonetheless, the consolidation of this paradigm has uncovered some of its limitations. Initially devised by corporations with direct control over large amounts of computational resources, cloud computing is now being endorsed by organizations with limited resources or with a more articulated, less direct control over these resources.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF