The Effect of Food Store Access and Income on Household Purchases of Fruits and Vegetables: A Mixed Effects Analysis

Abstract

Abstract This paper combines national‐level retail food availability information with data on actual purchases to determine the effect that availability of different types of food stores and income have on fruit and vegetable purchases. The results of our mixed effects analysis suggest that the densities of supermarkets and other retail outlets in metropolitan statistical areas do not have significant effects on household fruit and vegetable purchases. Income, however, has a positive significant effect on fruit and vegetable purchases. Results also indicate that while neither food access nor income account for the variability in fruit and vegetable purchases, the interaction of these terms has a small but significant impact indicating that policy actions designed to address access and affordability issues in isolation are not likely to succeed.