The WIC Fruit and Vegetable Cash Voucher: Does Regional Price Variation Affect Buying Power?

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英文名称：

The WIC Fruit and Vegetable Cash Voucher: Does Regional Price Variation Affect Buying Power?

作者：

Ephraim Leibtag; Aylin Kumcu

工作单位：

USDA's Economic Research Service

来源地址：

https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=44545

关键词：

WIC;  fruit and vegetable voucher;  fruit and vegetable prices;  Nielsen Homescan;  geographic price variation; 

年份：

2011

出版地：

Washington, DC, USA

总页数：

21 pp

语种：

English

摘要：

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods to low-income women, infants, and children at nutritional risk. Since October 2009, WIC packages have included a fixed-value voucher for purchasing fruits and vegetables. Although this should help increase fruit and vegetable consumption for all WIC participants, regional price variation could lead to different buying power-and nutritional benefits-across the country. Using 2004-06 Nielsen Homescan data, the authors examine the prices of fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, and canned) in 26 metropolitan market areas to determine how price variations affect the voucher's purchasing power. The authors find that the 20 most commonly purchased fruits and vegetables cost 30-70 percent more in the highest priced market areas than in the lowest, implying that WIC participants in more expensive areas might be able to purchase fewer fruits and vegetables than those living where these items are cheaper. The lowest priced market for fruits and vegetables was the Nashville, Birmingham, Memphis, and Louisville area, while the highest was San Francisco.