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An Alternative to Developing Stores in Food Deserts: Can Changes in SNAP Benefits Make a Difference?

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  • Margaret Andrews
  • Rhea Bhatta
  • Michele Ver Ploeg

Abstract

In the search for policies to reduce the effects of limited food access, little consideration has been given to how economic incentives could be used to make it easier for low-income families to access existing healthy food retailers. Using county-level, administrative data on redemption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by store type from May 2007 to May 2010, this paper investigates aggregate responses of SNAP participants to economic and policy changes. Results show that SNAP benefit increases, in general, are associated with a greater percentage of redemptions at superstores. However, other circumstances associated with the large increase in benefits enacted in April 2009 as a part of the stimulus bill reverse the positive effect. Estimates are stable across a number of specifications that also control for gas prices, store-type density, local unemployment and state policies. Results suggest that economic incentives deserve further consideration as an alternative to store development in food desert communities. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Margaret Andrews & Rhea Bhatta & Michele Ver Ploeg, 2013. "An Alternative to Developing Stores in Food Deserts: Can Changes in SNAP Benefits Make a Difference?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 35(1), pages 150-170.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:35:y:2013:i:1:p:150-170
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/pps042
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    Cited by:

    1. Parke Wilde & Mehreen Ismail & Michele Ver Ploeg, 2021. "The Quality of the Food Retail Environment When Consumers May Be Mobile," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(2), pages 701-715, June.
    2. Bullinger, Lindsey Rose & Fleckman, Julia M. & Fong, Kelley, 2021. "Proximity to SNAP-authorized retailers and child maltreatment reports," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    3. March, Raymond J. & Carpio, Carlos E. & Boonsaeng, Tullaya & Lyford, Conrad P., 2020. "Do SNAP Recipients Get the Best Prices?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(1), pages 135-159, February.
    4. Beatty, Timothy KM & Cuffey, Joel, 2016. "Food store access, shopping behavior, and SNAP benefit changes," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235541, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Cleary, Rebecca & Bonanno, Alessandro & Chenarides, Lauren & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Store profitability and public policies to improve food access in non-metro U.S. counties," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 158-170.
    6. Lee, Yu Na & Chau, Nancy & Just, David R., 2019. "Producer group participation in the trade adjustment assistance program for farmers before and after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Alyssa J. Moran & Yuxuan Gu & Sasha Clynes & Attia Goheer & Christina A. Roberto & Anne Palmer, 2020. "Associations between Governmental Policies to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Supermarket Purchases and Individual, Retailer, and Community Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Gallardo, Rosa Karina & Olanie, Aaron, 2012. "The Use of Wireless Capability at Farmers Markets: Results from a Choice Experiment Study," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124891, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Joel Cuffey & Timothy K. M. Beatty, 2022. "Effects of competing food desert policies on store format choice among SNAP participants," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(4), pages 1485-1511, August.
    10. Senia, Mark C. & Dharmasena, Senarath & Todd, Jessica E., 2018. "A Complex Model of Consumer Food Acquisitions: Applying Machine Learning and Directed Acyclic Graphs to the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS)," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266536, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.

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