A Cross-Sectional Study of Grocery Shopping Factors of Importance among Food-Insecure African Americans

• Published in: Nutrients 2024-04, Vol.16 (8), p.1188
• Main Authors: Harville Ii, Cedric, James, Delores C S, Patterson, Amaria, Harper, Sheila, Petchulat-McMillan, Lindy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans; Black or African American - statistics & numerical data; Chronic illnesses; Comparative analysis; Consumer Behavior - statistics & numerical data; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Datasets; Employment; Family income; Female; Food Insecurity; Food security; Food stamps; Food Supply - statistics & numerical data; Groceries; grocery shopping; Grocery stores; Households; Humans; Low income groups; Male; Marketing research; Middle Aged; nutrition; obesity; Pandemics; Private labeling; Racial discrimination; Shopping; SNAP BMI; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Supermarkets; Surveys; Variance analysis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16081188

The objective of this study was to (1) assess via cross-sectional survey the prevalence of food insecurity among African Americans [AAs] after their most recent grocery shopping trip, and (2) examine the grocery shopping factors of importance and characteristics of food-insecure AA grocery shoppers. Most (70.4%) were food-insecure. Food-insecure grocery shoppers were significantly more likely to be younger, less educated, who often skipped meals and/or practiced fasting, accessed a food pantry, were SNAP recipients, were considered to not be in "good" health, and who had higher BMI compared to food-secure shoppers ( ≤ 0.03 * for all). Our data showed that AAs shopped for groceries a mean 2.20 ± 1.29 times per week, for low prices (72.1%), without a weekly budget (58.9%), with a grocery list (44.6%) or using an app (27.6%), for high-quality vegetables (27.5%), for good customer service (22.9%), for store brands (20.8%) and name brands (17.9%).Food-insecure shoppers were significantly more likely to grocery shop more times per week, have a weekly budget, and use an app, but were significantly less likely to report store brands, name brands, good customer service, and high-quality vegetables as grocery factors of importance ( ≤ 0.03 * for all). Grocery strategies such as shopping with a grocery app and/or grocery list could help food-insecure AAs reduce grocery trips, promote meal planning to save money, and avoid skipping meals/fasting, while eating healthier.