What Characteristics Define Participants of Michigan’s Healthy Food Incentive Program?

Abstract

To characterize participants of a statewide healthy food incentive program in terms of shopping behaviors, surveys were collected at farmers markets (N = 436) and grocery stores (N = 131). Farmers market and grocery store respondents were mostly forty-five to fifty-four years old (21 percent to 24 percent) and female (72 to 82 percent). Grocery store respondents were more diverse. Farmers market participants were more likely to be female (p =.011), not have children (p =.006), and traveled further compared to grocery store participants. As healthy food incentive programs expand, participant characteristics should inform tailored outreach to expand to diverse populations to have a greater public health impact.