Impact of fruits and vegetables vouchers on food insecurity in disadvantaged families from a Paris suburb

Abstract

Background: Social inequalities in nutrition lead a high number of families to struggle with food insecurity, even in developed countries. We aimed to assess the impact of fruits and vegetables vouchers on food security among disadvantaged households from a Paris suburb. Methods: We used a pre-post assessment design. Families answered face-to-face questionnaires on food consumption and food security status before and after a randomly assigned intervention. Households in the intervention group received vouchers to buy exclusively fruits and vegetables over one year. Both intervention and control groups benefitted from nutritional education through workshops performed by dieticians during the study period. The Household Food Security Module (HFSM) was used to assess food security status of households at inclusion. Food Insufficiency Indicator (FSI) was used to assess food security at inclusion and follow-up. Evolution of FSI on both groups was evaluated using McNemar test. Results: Among the 91 families included between May 2015 and May 2016, 64 completed the post assessment questionnaire. At inclusion, 68.3% of families were experiencing food insecurity and 78.1% were experiencing food insufficiency. No association was found between food consumptions and food security status. After one-year follow-up, the prevalence of food insufficiency was significantly decreased in the intervention group (61.8%, with p value = 0.03), and unchanged in the control group. Conclusion: In this pilot study, food insufficiency was significantly decreased in families receiving vouchers for fruits and vegetables over a one-year period.

Changes in Food Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Consumer Survey Data From the First Lockdown Period in Denmark, Germany, and Slovenia

“…One factor that has been shown to increase fruit and vegetable intake in previous studies is the use of food banks, which provide such food at a nominal price ( 39 , 40 ). Relatedly, providing fruit and vegetables for free increases their uptake among socially disadvantaged men ( 39 ) and families ( 41 ). Although our data show overall only small increases in the use of food banks and anxiety about acquiring food especially amongst participants with a lower education, such changes are significant and might be expected to be higher over a longer timeframe than the initial 5–6 weeks of the pandemic covered by this study.…”

The Measurement of Food Insecurity in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

“…Eleven papers reported data on more than one country, with six of them including global samples of more than 100 countries [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], while the others used data from Europe [ 43 ], Macedonia, Moldova and Romania [ 44 ], and a combination of US and Canada [ 45 ]. The rest of the the papers used samples based in one country: US [ 35 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], Australia [ 50 , 51 ], Portugal [ 36 , 52 ], Canada [ 43 , 53 , 54 ], France [ 55 ], Greece [ 56 ], Italy [ 57 ], Norway [ 58 ] and Poland [ 59 ]. The remaining seven documents were literature reviews with no geographic restrictions, except for [ 60 , 61 ] which focused on combinations of US, Canada, England, New Zealand and Australia.…”

“…Three original papers explored the validity of new or existing food insecurity measures [ 37 , 39 , 51 ], while all others explored reported data on food insecurity prevalence with a different focus. Some studied its correlates: sociodemographics [ 40 , 58 , 59 ], age [ 52 ], health, social and poverty stressors [ 35 ] and self-confidence in resource management [ 47 ]; disparities based on gender [ 38 , 42 , 48 ], race [ 46 ] or region [ 36 ]; its health consequences [ 44 , 53 , 57 , 62 ]; and the impact of different policies and strategies [ 43 , 45 , 49 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 63 ]. The literature reviews’ objective was primarily to identify measurement tools available [ 16 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 60 ], although one of them also reviewed studies about food insecurity and environmental correlates [ 64 ], and another focused on gender disparities [ 61 ].…”

Money, Vouchers, Public Infrastructures? A Framework for Sustainable Welfare Benefits

“…Next to that, also more conventional vouchers, like sports vouchers [99] or fruit and vegetable vouchers [105], can be seen as shift vouchers, when they replace unsustainable consumption (e.g., meat consumption) or energy-consuming time-use patterns (e.g., car driving). Further ideas for shift vouchers, that might not come to one's mind when thinking about ecological goals but that could still profoundly change lifestyles, are shift vouchers for repairing utensils or shift vouchers for cultural events like concert which have a particularly low ecological impact per time-use.…”

“…Another example are entitlements for information service that cover the cost of "basic phone, Internet and the BBC TV license fee" [36]. More specific proposals include vouchers to buy exclusively fruits and vegetables [105] or vouchers for locally produced sustainable food [85]. Yet, if vouchers provide free (and not reduced) access, overconsumption beyond the needed level of that good might be the consequence.…”