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Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Americans: Would a Price Reduction Make a Difference?

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  • Dong, Diansheng
  • Lin, Biing-Hwan

Abstract

Americans’ diets, particularly those of low-income households, fall short of Government recommendations in the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed. Some proposals suggest that a price subsidy for those products would encourage low-income Americans to consume more of them. This study estimated that a 10-percent subsidy would encourage low-income Americans to increase their consumption of fruits by 2.1-5.2 percent and vegetables by 2.1-4.9 percent. The annual cost of such a subsidy for low-income Americans would be about $310 million for fruits and $270 million for vegetables. And most would still not meet Federal dietary recommendations.

Suggested Citation

  • Dong, Diansheng & Lin, Biing-Hwan, 2009. "Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Americans: Would a Price Reduction Make a Difference?," Economic Research Report 55835, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:55835
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.55835
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    2. Xu, Lei, 2024. "Household Food Waste Patterns: Exploring Categorical Price and Expenditure Elasticities Using a Demand System Approach," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343717, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Grindal, Todd & Wilde, Parke & Schwartz, Gabe & Klerman, Jacob & Bartlett, Susan & Berman, Danielle, 2016. "Does food retail access moderate the impact of fruit and vegetable incentives for SNAP participants? Evidence from western Massachusetts," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 59-69.
    4. Papoutsi, Georgia & Nayga, Rodolfo & Lazaridis, Panagiotis & Drichoutis, Andreas, 2013. "Nudging parental health behavior with and without children's pestering power: Fat tax, subsidy or both?," MPRA Paper 52324, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Richard Volpe & Edward C Jaenicke & Lauren Chenarides, 2018. "Store Formats, Market Structure, and Consumers’ Food Shopping Decisions," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 672-694, December.
    6. Khanal, Binod, 2020. "Cash transfers and consumption of healthy and unhealthy food: evidence from tax refunds," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304346, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Hogan, John J. & Berning, Joshua P., 2012. "Estimating the Relationship between Education and Food Purchases among Food Insecure Households," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124595, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Kuo-Liang Chang & Marjorie Zastrow & Christina Zdorovtsov & Ryan Quast & Larissa Skjonsberg & Suzanne Stluka, 2015. "Do SNAP and WIC Programs Encourage More Fruit and Vegetable Intake? A Household Survey in the Northern Great Plains," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 477-490, December.
    9. Ferrier, Peyton M & Rucker, Randal R. & Thurman, Walter N. & Burgett, Michael, 2018. "Economic Effects and Responses to Changes in Honey Bee Health," Economic Research Report 276245, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Stewart, Hayden & Dong, Diansheng, 2018. "The Relationship Between Patronizing Direct-to-Consumer Outlets and a Household’s Demand for Fruits and Vegetables," Economic Research Report 276254, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Rickertsen, K. & Gustavsen, G.W. & Nayga, R.M. & Dong, D., 2018. "Acculturation in Food Choices among U.S. Immigrants," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277041, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Klerman, Jacob Alex & Bartlett, Susan & Wilde, Parke & Olsho, Lauren, 2013. "The Healthy Incentives Pilot and Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Interim Results," 2014 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 3-5, 2014, Philadelphia, PA 161655, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Mark, Senia & Senarath, Dharmasena, 2016. "Ascertaining the Role of Socio-Economic-Demographic and Government Food Policy Related Factors on the Per Capita Intake of Dietary Fiber Derived from Consumption of Various Foods in the United States," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235757, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Wisdom Dogbe & Cesar Revoredo-Giha, 2021. "Nutritional and Environmental Assessment of Increasing the Content of Fruit and Vegetables in the UK Diet," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, January.
    15. Usama Haroon & Muhammad Hassan Chaudhary & Muhammad Aamir Shahzad & Muhammad Adnan Khan & Nimra Nisar, 2020. "Vegetable Prices Possess Seasonal Volatility: A Case Study of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 2(2), pages 62-71.
    16. Volpe, Richard & Okrent, Abigail, 2012. "Assessing the Healthfulness of Consumers' Grocery Purchases," Economic Information Bulletin 262129, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    17. Ferrier, Peyton M. & Zhen, Chen, 2017. "The Role of Income in Explaining the Shift from Preserved to Fresh Vegetable Purchases," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 42(3), September.
    18. Senia, Mark & Dharmasena, Senarath, 2017. "Pre-Determined Demand and Theoretical Regularity Conditions: Their Importance for Consumer Food Demand Using AIDS and Policy Analysis Implications," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252740, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    19. Natalie H. Valpiani & Parke E. Wilde & Beatrice L. Rogers & Hayden G. Stewart, 2016. "Price Differences across Farmers’ Markets, Roadside Stands, and Supermarkets in North Carolina," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 276-291.

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    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis;
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