Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Purchases in an Urban Supermarket by Low-income Households

ObjectiveTo investigate the predictors of fresh fruit and vegetable purchases in a low-income population and identify subgroups in which interventions to increase such purchases might prove useful.MethodsRetrospective analysis of 209 shopping transactions from 30 households. Individual and household characteristics obtained from primary shopper. Data collected covered April 1-June 30, 2010. Primary outcome was number of servings of fresh produce purchased per week. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted.ResultsControlling for household size, the average number of servings of fresh produce per week was higher in families with more children (P = .008) and in families with a wider age range of children (P = .04).Conclusions and ImplicationsHouseholds with more children purchased more fresh produce. Purchase data combined with shopper household characteristics helped to distinguish relatively high from low purchasers of fresh produce among low-income families.