Exhibit 3:
Changes in supermarket spending among Healthy Helping users relative to controls, North Carolina, October 2019–December 2020
| Variable | Estimate | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Total spending ($ per month) | 65.61 | 63.57, 67.65 |
| Food and beverage spending | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 63.18 | 61.31, 65.05 |
| Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 30.22 | 29.80, 30.64 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | 14.39 | 13.95, 14.84 |
| Volume (ounces) | 266.5 | 261.9, 271.1 |
| Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes with no added sugar, salt, or fat | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 28.44 | 28.03, 28.84 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | 14.34 | 13.89, 14.79 |
| Candy, chocolate, and gum | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 0.65 | 0.59, 0.71 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −0.26 | −0.30, −0.22 |
| Dessert and sweet snacks | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 3.23 | 3.00, 3.47 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −1.71 | −1.84, −1.58 |
| Processed meats and seafood | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 3.32 | 3.06, 3.58 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −1.42 | −1.54, −1.31 |
| Salty snacks | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 1.98 | 1.81, 2.14 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −0.93 | −1.01, −0.84 |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 3.34 | 3.05, 3.63 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −2.82 | −3.02, −2.63 |
| Sweeteners and toppings | ||
| Dollars spent ($ per month) | 0.38 | 0.34, 0.43 |
| Relative share of food and beverage spending (%) | −0.19 | −0.22, −0.16 |
SOURCE Authors’ analysis of data from a supermarket chain in North Carolina, October 2019–December 2020. NOTES Treatment on treated models include data from 18,970 Healthy Helping users who used Healthy Helping benefits (197,510 shopper-months) and 86,034 control shoppers (804,481 shopper-months). Estimates are from linear mixed models with terms for Healthy Helping participation, time (before or after month of first use [Healthy Helping shoppers] or before or after index month [control shoppers]) and a Healthy Helping-by-time product term. All estimates were statistically significantly different from 0 at the p < 0.001 level. Models were also adjusted for month and year; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children use; urbanicity of most frequent store; and number of months of follow-up, with the shopper-month as the unit of analysis. Models include random intercepts for most frequent store and shopper ID.