From Food Deserts to Fresh Food: The Role of Digital Accessibility in Nutrition Assistance Programs
中文摘要
十分之一的美国住户经历食物不安全，数百万低收入家庭缺乏获取新鲜食品的渠道。对此，联邦和州政府近期推出了补充营养援助计划（SNAP）在线购买试点（SNAP Online），使 SNAP 福利能够覆盖在线食品购买。尽管已有研究表明 SNAP Online 项目可能提高总体食品消费，但其对新鲜食品消费的影响仍不明确。本研究利用 NielsenIQ 消费者面板数据，采用双重差分方法回答这一问题。我们的发现表明，SNAP Online 项目使低收入家庭的新鲜食品消费提高了 7.1%。然而，在在线杂货配送可及性有限的地区以及此前新鲜食品消费习惯较差的家庭中，这一效应很小。这些结果凸显了供给侧政策（如扩大在线购买选项）在改善新鲜食品消费方面的潜力。它们也强调了解决需求侧障碍、提升数字可及性以最大化营养援助项目有效性的重要性。本文由信息系统领域编辑 D. J. Wu 接收。资助：Z. Li 获得了美国国家科学基金会社会经济科学部 [CAREER Award 2243736] 的资助。补充材料：网络附录和数据文件可在 https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2025.00012 获取。
Abstract
One in 10 U.S. households experience food insecurity, with millions of low-income families lacking access to fresh food. In response, federal and state governments recently launched the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (SNAP Online), enabling SNAP benefits to cover online food purchases. Although prior research suggests that the SNAP Online program may increase overall food consumption, its impact on fresh food consumption remains unclear. This research leverages NielsenIQ consumer panel data and employs a Difference-in-Differences approach to address this question. Our findings reveal that the SNAP Online program increases fresh food consumption among low-income households by 7.1%. However, the effect is minimal in areas with limited access to online grocery delivery and among households with poor prior fresh food consumption habits. These results underscore the potential of supply-side policies, such as expanding online purchasing options, to improve fresh food consumption. They also highlight the importance of addressing demand-side barriers and enhancing digital accessibility to maximize the effectiveness of nutrition assistance programs. This paper was accepted by D. J. Wu, information systems. Funding: Z. Li received financial support from the National Science Foundation Division of Social and Economic Sciences [CAREER Award 2243736]. Supplemental Material: The web appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2025.00012 .