ArticlePublic health nutrition2021
Trends in cyclical food expenditures among low-income households receiving monthly nutrition assistance: results from a prospective study.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of financial incentives and restrictions on cyclical food expenditures among low-income households receiving nutrition assistance: a randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Trial
- Evaluation of the Feasibility and Construct Validity of a Novel Method to Measure Household Fruit and Vegetable Procurement in Low-Income Community Settings.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2026Article
- The Monthly Cycling of Food Insecurity in Latinas at Risk for Diabetes: Methods, Retention, and Sample Characteristics for a Microlongitudinal Design.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- New measures to assess the "Other" three pillars of food security-availability, utilization, and stability.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Article
- Article
- Engaging Food Insecure Families on the Weekend to Improve Nutrition and Health.Progress in community health partnerships : research, education, and actionArticle
- SNAP and/or WIC Participation and Diet Quality in Mother-Child Dyads living in Greater Boston after Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are rapidly depleted after distribution. This phenomenon, known as the benefit cycle, is associated with poor nutrition and health outcomes. However, to date, no study has evaluated trends in food expenditures before and after households receive benefits using prospective data, and whether these trends vary by household characteristics.
designGeneralised estimating equations were used to model weekly household food expenditures during baseline (pre-benefit) and intervention months by vendor (restaurants and food retailers). Food retailer expenditures were further evaluated by food category (fruits and vegetables and foods high in added sugar). All expenditures were evaluated by household composition, demographics and economic means.
settingMinneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area.
participantsLow-income households (n 249) enrolled May 2013-August 2015.
resultsWeekly food retailer expenditures did not vary during baseline (pre-benefit), but demonstrated a cyclical pattern after households received benefits across all household characteristics and for both food categories, particularly for fruits and vegetables. Households with greater economic resources spent more throughout the month compared with those with fewer resources. Households with lower food security status experienced more severe fluctuations in spending compared with more food secure households.
conclusionsCyclical food purchasing was observed broadly across different household characteristics and food categories, with notable differences by household economic means and food security status. Proposed SNAP policy changes designed to smooth food expenditures across the benefit month, such as increased frequency of benefit distribution, should include a focus on households with fewest resources.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.