Good Food at Home Indianapolis: A Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Model Comparing Brick-and-Mortar to Online Ordering

To compare participant use and satisfaction with nutrition incentives offered through an online platform vs a brick-and-mortar store, following a produce box program.

The intervention group received a produce box program before nutrition incentives (comparison group did not). Within each group, participants were split between a brick-and-mortar store and an online ordering platform for their incentives. Purchasing data and a post survey were collected.

Intervention participants used a greater amount of incentives, were more likely to make a purchase, and were more likely to spend all their incentives than the comparison group. Brick-and-mortar participants used a greater amount of their incentives and were more likely to make a purchase, but online ordering participants were more likely to use their full incentive.

Future research is needed to examine and understand spending patterns in nutrition incentive programs, in particular for differences between brick-and-mortar and online ordering opportunities.