Table 2.

Food purchasing behaviors of a sample of families from low-income and racially and ethnically diverse households with children across categories of assistance (N = 1,033).

	SNAP and other assistance programs^a		Assistance programs other than SNAP^b		Not enrolled in any assistance program

	n = 457		n = 305		n = 271		Overall P value

Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%
Buy most foods at							<0.001
Grocery store, warehouse, superstore, or co-ops	260	57	127	42	120	44
Local grocery stores, farmer’s market, convenience store, ethnic store, or dollar store	197	43	178	58	151	56
Most important reasons for shopping at ^c
Grocery store (e.g., Cub, Aldi) (n=716)							0.06
Close to home	163	40	122	45	85	37
Good prices	130	32	73	27	74	32
Good quality food	54	13	35	13	38	17
Other reasons	56	14	42	15	31	14
Warehouse store (e.g., Costco, Sam's Club)							0.26
Good prices	66	42	83	54	57	46
Good quality food	40	25	31	20	30	24
Good selection of foods	20	13	16	10	17	14
Other reasons	31	20	24	16	21	17
Superstore (e.g., Walmart, Target) (n=654)							0.04
Good prices	161	58	113	57	82	44
Close to home	44	16	42	21	36	19
Good selection of foods	32	11	18	9	29	16
Other reasons	42	15	26	13	39	21
Small community grocery store (n=175)							0.43
Close to home	32	52	26	49	24	40
It sells food from my culture/ethnicity	16	26	14	26	24	40
Good quality food	4	6	6	11	6	10
Other reasons	10	16	7	13	6	10
Farmer's market (n=255)							0.02
Good quality food	51	53	48	53	39	58
Good selection of foods	15	15	5	5	7	10
It sells food from my culture/ethnicity	13	13	12	13	9	13
Other reasons	18	19	26	29	12	18
Convenience store (n=91)							0.003
Close to home	47	87	18	75	4	31
It sells food from my culture/ethnicity	1	2	1	4	4	31
Good prices	1	2	2	8	1	8
Other reasons	5	9	3	13	4	31
Ethnic foods store (n=171)							0.1
It sells food from my culture/ethnicity	38	61	65	81	27	60
Good selection of foods	5	8	5	6	3	7
Good quality food	9	15	4	5	2	4
Other reasons	10	16	6	8	13	29
Co-op (n=55)							0.51
Good quality food	13	68	15	58	9	90
Good selection of foods	2	11	5	19	0	0
Close to home	3	16	1	4	1	10
Other reasons	1	5	5	19	0	0
Dollar store (n=122)							0.64
Good prices	47	68	20	74	18	69
Close to home	17	25	3	11	8	31
Close to work	1	1	1	4	0	0
Other reasons	4	6	3	11	0	0
Frequency of food shopping
Online grocery shopping							0.34
Never	416	91	286	94	252	93
A few times a year	41	9	19	6	19	7	<0.001
Go food shopping for the home							<0.001
1 big trip a month and no small trips in between	34	7	9	3	11	4
1 big trip a month and a few small trips in between	162	35	57	19	64	24
2 big trips a month and no trips in between	21	5	15	5	15	5
2 big trips a month and a few small trips in between	134	29	117	38	75	28
4 big trips a month and no trips in between	14	3	11	4	18	7
4 big trips a month and a few small trips in between	48	11	38	12	30	11
No big trips, but shop as needed	44	10	58	19	58	21
Mode of transportation for food shopping							<0.001
My own car or vehicle	262	57	273	90	224	83
I ride in a car or vehicle of my family/friends	106	23	21	7	32	12
Public transportation	43	9	5	2	8	3
Taxi	20	4	2	0.7	2	1
Walk	24	5	3	1	4	1
Other	2	<1	1	<1	1	<1
Other general decisions
Decide on a set amount of money to spend on groceries							0.01
Never/Rarely	60	13	62	20	52	19	0.01
Sometimes	156	34	87	29	84	31
Often	109	24	91	30	76	28
Always	132	29	65	21	59	22
Use a written grocery list							0.18
Never/Rarely	101	22	48	16	56	20
Sometimes	161	35	109	36	94	35
Often	108	24	92	30	62	23
Always	87	19	56	18	59	22
Use coupons (paper or online) or advertisements to find sale items/get a good deal							0.02
Never/Rarely	111	24	78	26	95	35
Sometimes	181	40	136	45	105	39
Often	87	19	49	16	38	14
Always	78	17	42	14	33	12
Use the ingredient list or Nutrition Facts panel before buying or choosing to eat a food product for the first time							0.22
Never/Rarely	182	40	106	35	91	34
Sometimes	171	37	128	42	100	37
Often	59	13	45	15	44	16
Always	45	10	26	9	36	13
Which of the following most influences your decision to buy a food product?							<0.001
Total calories	57	12	57	19	65	24
Calories from fat	23	5	16	5	8	3
Total fat	26	6	14	5	16	6
Saturated fat	5	1	5	2	8	3
Trans fat	6	1	4	1	10	4
Cholesterol	9	2	3	1	7	3
Sodium	15	3	17	6	18	7
Carbohydrates	22	5	14	5	12	4
Fiber	8	2	9	3	21	7
Sugar	68	15	41	13	28	10
None of the above	218	48	125	41	78	29

SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

SNAP and other assistance programs: SNAP, WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), free or reduced cost school breakfast, free or reduced cost school lunch, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), MFIP (Minnesota Family Investment Program), and/or daycare assistance.

Assistance programs other than SNAP: WIC, free or reduced cost school breakfast, free or reduced cost school lunch, SSI, MFIP, and/or daycare assistance.

The top three reasons for shopping at specific stores are presented. Possible answers included: close to home, close to work, know staff at store, good services, good prices, good quality food, good selection of foods, it sells food from my culture/ethnicity, it is clean, other. ‘Other reasons’ included the combination of lower cell counts among the list of reasons for shopping at.