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Online Grocery Shopping by NYC Public Housing Residents Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits: A Service Ecosystems Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Nevin Cohen

    (Department of Health Policy and Management, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY 10027, USA
    CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Katherine Tomaino Fraser

    (CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Chloe Arnow

    (Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., New York, NY 10004, USA)

  • Michelle Mulcahy

    (Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., New York, NY 10004, USA)

  • Christophe Hille

    (Karen Karp & Partners, P.O. Box 515, Southold, NY 11971, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines adoption of online grocery shopping, and potential cost and time savings compared to brick and mortar food retailers, by New York City public housing residents using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. A mixed methods action research project involving the co-creation of an online shopping club, the Farragut Food Club (FFC), recruited 300 members who registered to shop online using SNAP, and received waivers on delivery minimums and provided technical assistance and centralized food delivery. We conducted a survey (n = 206) and focus groups to understand shopping practices; FFC members collected receipts of groceries over two weeks before and after the pilot to measure foods purchased, stores patronized, and prices. We interviewed FFC members to elicit experiences with the pilot, and estimated cost differences between products purchased in brick and mortar stores and equivalent products online, and transportation time and cost differences. Online shopping represented a small (2.4%) percentage of grocery spending. Unit prices for products purchased on Amazon ($0.28) were significantly higher than for equivalent products purchased in brick and mortar stores ($0.23) ( p < 0.001.) Compatibility with existing routines, low relative advantage, and cost of online products limited the adoption of online shopping among SNAP users.

Suggested Citation

  • Nevin Cohen & Katherine Tomaino Fraser & Chloe Arnow & Michelle Mulcahy & Christophe Hille, 2020. "Online Grocery Shopping by NYC Public Housing Residents Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits: A Service Ecosystems Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4694-:d:369014
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Taillard, Marie & Peters, Linda D. & Pels, Jaqueline & Mele, Cristina, 2016. "The role of shared intentions in the emergence of service ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2972-2980.
    2. Vargo, Stephen L. & Akaka, Melissa Archpru & Wieland, Heiko, 2020. "Rethinking the process of diffusion in innovation: A service-ecosystems and institutional perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 526-534.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jones, Kyle & Leschewski, Andrea & Jones, Jordan & Melo, Grace, 2023. "The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Online Purchasing Pilot’s impact on food insufficiency," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    2. Leschewski, Andrea & Melo, Grace & Jones, Jordan W., 2022. "The SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot’s Impact on Food Sufficiency During the Covid-19 Pandemic," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322060, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Katherine Consavage Stanley & Paige B. Harrigan & Elena L. Serrano & Vivica I. Kraak, 2021. "Applying a Multi-Dimensional Digital Food and Nutrition Literacy Model to Inform Research and Policies to Enable Adults in the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to Make Healthy Purchases ," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-25, August.
    4. Hannah Younes & Robert B. Noland & Wenwen Zhang, 2022. "Browsing for food: Will COVID‐induced online grocery delivery persist?," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S1), pages 179-195, November.

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