| Food costs |
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“The healthy meals, they’re prepared for you. I think of the cost when I pick them up. If they’re on sale, I’ll pick them up. But if they’re not I’m not going to pick them up.” (age 67 years, White, female, food secure).
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“I used to buy more meat, and I'm buying less now. Because if I want to keep my weekly shopping between $30 and $40, I can't afford salmon and different things that are really healthy. But I wait until the canned salmon goes on sale for $2 and then I buy that…I go by on what's on sale, probably like most people do.” (age 73 years, White. Female, food secure)
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“I bought ground beef and I was shocked…for the times and what's going on, it might be reasonable, I don't know, but I'm aware it's more expensive than I've paid before.” (age 83 years, White, female, food secure)
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“I would like the farmers’ market, but they can be pricy too, which I understand because they’re taking their time out to grow these items. You have to get back what you put into it and maybe a little more.” (age 54 years, Black, male, food insecure)
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| Seasonality |
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“If it’s in season and it’s a lower price, then I’ll get it, but if it’s out of season, I watch the prices. If it’s too expensive, I just say ‘Okay, forget it, I’m not going to get that until the prices go back down.’” (age 70 years, White, female, food insecure)
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| Shelf-life |
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“It showed you how long they last in the refrigerator. Now that’s very important to your budget because if you buy something that’s going to rot in 2 days, you done wasted your money.” (age 71 years, Native American and Black, female, food secure)
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| Healthfulness |
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“Just the health aspect of the food. If it’s low in saturated fat, and there are things that are good for our microbiome, we’ll prefer to eat those types of foods.” (age 66 years, White, male, food secure).
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“Whole-wheat bread, 100% whole-wheat bread. The pastas are all wheat, because the white bread, and the noodles and everything, the pastas and everything, it turns to sugar too fast in my system because I am diabetic. I have to watch everything I eat.” (age 70 years, White, female, food insecure)
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| Personal preferences |
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“By preference, what I like and what I don't like. I don't like cabbage. I like sauerkraut and I love coleslaw, but I don't like cooked cabbage.” (age 75 years, White, female, food secure)
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“I go usually with those pasta, bread, and cereal. I go with what I like, nutrients, because I have started trying to do a lower-sugar diet. And so, I'm checking that. And then, price.” (age 76 years, White, female, food secure)
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“I go by what I like because if you buy a cheaper brand and you don't like it, by the time you get done doctoring it up, you might as well just bought the other can because now you're going to use other things at home to make it better and that's going to cost you more.” (age 63 years, White, female, food insecure)
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| Availability and accessibility |
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“I can’t tell you the last time I bought fruit...I do have some fruit, but that was only because we just started having them as part of the food boxes that the government supplied.” (age 59 years, White, female, food insecure).
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I was going to get a loaf of bread, and they're all out of the bread. The shelves are just really low. So then, I had to go to [Grocery store 2] and get the more expensive stuff.” (age 67 years, White, female, food secure)
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Interviewer: “Can you tell me a little bit… what foods you're seeing going up in price?”
Respondent: “Like chicken, vegetable, just about everything has gone up.” Interviewer: “Okay. And has that impacted what you're buying?” Respondent: “No, not really, because I have food stamps right now. And we got quite a bit this last couple of months.” (age 64 years, White, female, food insecure) -
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“There was disappointment for a while because I was only getting $16 a month. And then, now that the pandemic has taken place, they've increased it to close to $200 a month. So, that's been extremely helpful because my only income is Social Security... Just taking the pressure off, and then giving me money for other expenses that I have.” (age 72 years, White, male, food secure)
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“I don't know what the money is like for the food stamp program, but really $78 a month is not enough for me….I'm relying a lot on the kindness of strangers…There really isn't enough money for a person.” (age 65 years, Black, Non-binary, food insecure)
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| Support for local food |
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“They’re a hometown company. I’ve used their products all my life and I just stay with them to support a hometown business.” (age 76 years, White, female, food insecure)
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“You pay a little more, but you get a better product, I think. You get less other junk that they use to get it on the shelf in the store…Support your local farmer.” (age 71 years, White, female, food secure)
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“Ones that are grown locals. If they’re Iowa tomatoes or different local Iowa foods, I would consider them the healthiest…if I could get eggs from a farmer here in the [town] area, that’s what I would do…the factory ones or the ones you can get in the grocery store...They’re my last choice.” (age 73 years, White, female, food secure)
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