Robles Brenda, Barragan Noel, Smith Brenda, Caldwell Julia, Shah Dipa, Kuo Tony
Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90010, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Prev Med Rep. 2019 Oct 22;16:100997. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100997. eCollection 2019 Dec.
As part of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) in Los Angeles County (LAC), corner store conversions (CSCs) were an integral part of a broader, more coordinated effort to improve nutrition and to prevent obesity in low-income populations. To date, little is known about this experience in LAC. The present study addresses this gap by describing lessons learned from implementing the SNAP-Ed (SCSP) in this region. The project, which began in 2013, sought to scale CSCs in underserved communities of LAC, employing behavioral economics (e.g., prominently displaying healthy foods at checkout aisles or using in-store signage to promote healthy options) to encourage patron selection of healthier food items. Results from an assessment of the SCSP suggest that for CSCs to do well, careful considerations should be given to factors such as time (e.g., amount of staff time dedicated to the effort), staff capacity (e.g., # staff available to assist), and available resources that can be leveraged (e.g., support from community-based organizations). For some stores, inadequate food distribution or a lack of capital improvement infrastructure (e.g., refrigeration for fresh produce/storage of excess food that can be repurposed) were key barriers that required additional funding. Although local efforts that incentivize small businesses to undergo CSCs may initially nudge store owners to participate, increasing overall consumer demand for healthier food products (i.e., so as to help maintain sales volume) remains a key to sustaining store conversions long after SNAP-Ed resources are gone.
作为洛杉矶县联邦补充营养援助计划教育项目（SNAP-Ed）的一部分，街角商店改造（CSCs）是一项更广泛、更协调的努力的重要组成部分，旨在改善低收入人群的营养状况并预防肥胖。迄今为止，人们对洛杉矶县的这一经验知之甚少。本研究通过描述在该地区实施SNAP-Ed（SCSP）所吸取的经验教训来填补这一空白。该项目始于2013年，旨在扩大洛杉矶县服务不足社区的街角商店改造规模，采用行为经济学方法（例如，在收银通道显著展示健康食品或使用店内标识推广健康选择）来鼓励顾客选择更健康的食品。对SCSP的评估结果表明，要使街角商店改造取得成功，应仔细考虑时间（例如，投入该工作的员工时间量）、员工能力（例如，可提供协助的员工数量）以及可利用的现有资源（例如，来自社区组织的支持）等因素。对于一些商店来说，食品配送不足或缺乏资本改善基础设施（例如，用于新鲜农产品的冷藏/可重新利用的多余食品的储存）是需要额外资金的关键障碍。尽管激励小企业进行街角商店改造的地方努力可能最初会促使店主参与，但在SNAP-Ed资源消失很久之后，增加消费者对更健康食品产品的总体需求（即，以帮助维持销售量）仍然是维持商店改造的关键。
