An Analysis of SNAP Online Purchasing Behavior in California: A Review of the First 7 Months of Program Implementation and Lessons Learned

• Published in: American journal of health promotion Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 333 - 344
• Main Authors: Foster, Isabelle S., LeBoa, Christopher, Hoffs, Charlie T, Polselli, Angelina M., de Nocker, Charly, Liu, Samantha Y., Rummo, Pasquale E., Brandt, Eric J., Rimm, Eric B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.03.2023; American Journal of Health Promotion
• Subjects: Asian; Availability; California; Clustering; Consumer Behavior; Demographics; Family Characteristics; Female; Food; Food Assistance; Food stamps; Food Supply; Health promotion; Hispanic or Latino; Households; Humans; Internet; Nutrition; Program Evaluation; Program implementation; Purchasing; Rural areas; Rurality; Social services; Transactions; California; United States > US; rurality; health; health equity; SNAP; food assistance; equity; food access; program pilot; nutrition; interventions; food security; food policy; USDA; online grocery
• ISSN: 0890-1171; 2168-6602; 2168-6602
• DOI: 10.1177/08901171221131194

Purpose The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot (OPP) allows for the online purchase of groceries using SNAP benefits. First implemented in California in late April 2020, little is known about program usage. This study assessed initial implementation of SNAP Online in California using SNAP OPP transaction data from April - October 2020. Insights can identify usage differences by demographics, store availability, and rurality to help inform future pilot programs and nutrition initiatives. Design Using generalized estimating equations, we modeled county-level associations between transactions and county-level demographics, rurality, and retailer availability. Setting Transaction data from California’s Department of Social Services (CDSS) was linked with publicly-available, county-level demographics. Subjects Anonymized county-level data on SNAP Online transactions and CalFresh households. Measures The primary outcome was successful SNAP Online food transactions per county. Analysis Generalized estimating equation models with clustering by county was used. Results During the first 7 months, median SNAP Online transactions per county per month was 665; 2.7% of total SNAP redemptions were from SNAP Online. Counties with more female-led, disabled, Latino, or Asian CalFresh households had fewer Amazon transactions. Each additional Walmart per county corresponded to 260.7 more Walmart transactions (P < .001). Each percent increase in county zip codes covered by Amazon Fresh corresponded to 45.4 fewer Walmart transactions (P < .05) and 37.3 more Amazon transactions (P < .001). Conclusion Number of stores per county was associated with greater online grocery transactions, whereas rurality was not. County-level SNAP demographics correlated with transactions at particular retailers.