1 / 34

Working with NYC Bodegas to Increase Access to Healthier Foods in Low-income Neighborhoods

Working with NYC Bodegas to Increase Access to Healthier Foods in Low-income Neighborhoods. Epidemiology Grand Rounds Donya Williams Program Development Specialist, Healthy Bodegas Initiative February 22, 2010. What is a BODEGA? . Has no more than two registers

arlene
Download Presentation

Working with NYC Bodegas to Increase Access to Healthier Foods in Low-income Neighborhoods

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Working with NYC Bodegas to Increase Access to Healthier Foods in Low-income Neighborhoods Epidemiology Grand Rounds Donya Williams Program Development Specialist, Healthy Bodegas Initiative February 22, 2010

  2. What is a BODEGA? • Has no more than two registers • Non-specialty (does not specialize in one main item, e.g., baked goods, meats, etc.) • Majority of inventory must be food • Sells milk * DOHMH operational definition

  3. Bodegas Represent Majority of Food Outlets in DPHOs

  4. Healthy Bodegas Initiative (HBI) • Mission • “To increase the availability and prominence of healthy foods in bodegas and to educate and empower the community to choose and demand healthier food options.” • Campaigns • Moooove to 1% Milk (2007-2008) • Move to Fruits and Vegetables (2008) • Star Bodegas (2009 – present)

  5. Breaking the Ground… Moooove to 1% Milk: Worked with more than 1,000 bodegas to increase stock of low-fat milk, visited stores 3 times Move to Fruits and Vegetables: Worked with 520 bodegas to increase their variety and quantity of fresh produce and to improve the quality; visited stores 3 times Although these interventions were important, they were unsustainable and difficult to evaluate

  6. Lessons Learned Stores need to be visited more often to ensure sustainable change Stores need to be connected with community groups and sites so that demand for healthier foods can be demonstrated We can’t work successfully with all stores

  7. Intervention Methodology: Star Bodega Campaign Intensive approach to working with stores incorporating lessons learned from previous work Approximately 60 stores (20 in each DPHO) are recruited to participate and make changes over a 7-month period, after which another group of 60 stores is recruited Stores are chosen based on location, motivation of store owner and proximity to schools and other community organizations Stores receive at least 10 visits by staff Stores are given a menu of options to choose from Incentives are provided as stores advance levels

  8. Cycle 1 Criteria * aligns with WIC criteria Level 1 Stock no-sugar-added canned fruit * Stock 2 varieties of fresh fruits and 2 varieties of fresh vegetables Stock low-fat milk (1% or Skim) * Stock low-salt (≤290mg/serving) canned vegetables or soup Display approved posters promoting healthy foods Meet minimum produce display standards Level 2 Meet Level 1 requirements plus: Stock whole grain bread * Offer an additional 2 varieties of fresh fruits and 2 fresh vegetables Stock 2 healthier snack items Implement at least 1 strategy to increase healthy offerings at store Offer water, low-fat milk or fruit as part of a meal combo; promote a healthier sandwich, obtain a stoop line permit; sell packaged ready-to-eat fruits or vegetables Display water at eye level in refrigerators Level 3 Meet Level 1 & Level 2 requirements plus: Stock a dark green leafy vegetable Clearly identify healthier items Participate in 20 minute in-store training with DOH staff

  9. Star Bodega Decal

  10. What it Looks Like on the Ground At each store visit, outreach staff: Observe and note progress since their last visit to the store Discuss progress and suggest new areas for improvement with store owner Provide technical assistance (referrals to loans, produce distribution, energy savings) Assist with rearranging the store to promote healthier items (produce up front, shelf talkers, etc) Address any issues or concerns that came up since the last visit

  11. Offering Incentives that Support our Mission Stores received incentives when they reached each Star Level

  12. Tobacco Replacement Ads – Shop Healthy Here! BEFORE AFTER

  13. Benefit to Store Owners Incentives for making recommended changes. Assistance with obtaining and applying for licenses and loans. Cooking demonstrations to promote healthier items and attract new customers. Information on how to store, market, display and procure fresh produce.

  14. Incentives

  15. What About Demand? In order to ensure demand for healthier items in our stores, we’ve worked with more than 150 community organizations Over the past two years, we’ve engaged and empowered community members though our work including: Educational Workshops Adopt a Bodega connections Health Fairs Cooking Demonstrations

  16. Providing Cooking Demonstrations with City Harvest to Promote Healthier Items

  17. Inside Look:Bronx Star Bodega Bronx Bodega: Advanced 2 Levels & made 7 changes Stocked an average of 5 varieties of fresh fruit after the 7 month intervention, compared to 1 at baseline Started selling and advertising a healthy sandwich Started selling ready-to-eat fruits Began stocking no-sugar-added canned fruit and low-sodium canned goods and identifying them with shelf talkers Began stocking whole wheat bread

  18. 6 MonthTimeline – Star Bodega Campaign Month 1 Store Recruitment Month 2 Pre-Intervention Data Collection Month 3-7 Implementation of the Star Bodega Campaign: Each store was visited twice monthly, for a total of 10 visits. At visits staff assessed the stores’ current Star Level and met with the store owner to discuss progress and identify new changes the store should focus on. Month 8 Post-Intervention Data Collection Month 14, Month 20 Six Month and One Year Post-Intervention Store Observations

  19. How We Evaluate Our Work Evaluation of the Star Bodega Campaign In-Store Observations (pre/post intervention, 6 months and 1 year post intervention) Store Owner/Manager Surveys (pre/post intervention) Consumer Exit Survey (8 stores only, pre/post intervention) Additional Research Projects Customer Volume Study (2009) Focus Groups (2009)

  20. I. In-Store Observations Objective Assess whether stores implemented changes as part of the Healthy Bodegas Initiative Methodology Conduct three visits to each store pre and post intervention to assess whether stores implemented changes (330 visits total)

  21. Bodegas Meeting Star Level Criteria Pre and Post Intervention • On average, store managers/owners made 4 changes to their stores, with some making as many as seven changes.

  22. Changes in Inventory and Promotion Percent of Stores Meeting Criteria

  23. II. Store Owner Survey Objective: Better understand needs and challenges faced by store owners Obtain feedback from store owners/managers about their experiences participating in campaign Methodology: Conduct surveys (mixed, qualitative and quantitative) with all store owners/managers at pre and post intervention

  24. II. Store Owner Survey Key Findings at post: 78% of respondents said the campaign helped improve their sales of healthier foods. 22% of stores reported that customers requested fruits and vegetables more than once a week (compared with 4% at baseline) Respondents (89%) identified staff visits as most important in motivating and supporting them to make improvements Store owners appreciated marketing materials, cooking demonstrations, and shelf talkers, and requested more

  25. III. Consumer Exit Surveys Objective: Assess changes in customer (aged 18 and older) purchases as a result of the Healthy Bodegas Initiative Methodology: Conduct pre and post consumer surveys at 8 stores, 2 days each Surveys were collected during busy bodega shifts (8am-10am and 4pm-6pm) Overall, we surveyed more than 600 customers

  26. III. Consumer Profile Three quarters of respondents were the main food shopper in their household. Roughly 80% of respondents said they shopped at that specific bodega once a week or more. Beverage purchases were the most common (62%) followed by snack purchases (28%).

  27. Changes in Customer Purchases The percentage of customers purchasing items for which the Star Bodega Campaign specifically promoted a healthier alterative (low sodium/sugar canned goods, low fat milk, whole grain bread, healthier snacks and sandwiches) increased from 5% to 17%. (p<0.05) Customer purchases of low-fat milk increased from 16% of all milk purchases pre-intervention to 53% of all milk purchases post-intervention. (p<0.05) Water purchases increased from 6% of beverage purchases pre-intervention to 12% of beverage purchases post-intervention. (ns) The percentage of customers purchasing items promoted by the Star Bodega Campaign increased from 23% to 30%. (ns)

  28. IV. Customer Volume Study Objective: Estimate the number of customers reached through the Healthy Bodegas Initiative (and get a sense in general of how many people shop at bodegas) Methodology: Visited approximately 180 bodegas (twice) between 8am and 8pm and counted customers exiting the store; surveyed every 5th customer about how often they shop there More than 7,000 individuals counted!

  29. IV. Key Findings On average, between 8am and 8pm, a typical corner store was patronized by 703 customers 556 adults 147 youth Roughly half of customers shop at the store at least once a day, and 70% shop there at least once a week Clearly, working in bodegas is critical to affecting food purchases of everyday New Yorkers

  30. Implications If generalizable, results from the customer volume study suggest that every 1,000 bodegas receive roughly 700,000 customer visits per day AND… The 120 bodegas reached per year through the Star Bodega Campaign receive more than 80,000 customer visits per day!

  31. Challenges • Collecting sales data from store owners • Stimulating supply and demand simultaneously • Overcoming existing structural barriers (lack of space, limited or no refrigeration, issues w/ distribution, etc.) • Sustaining changes after the intervention is completed

  32. Conclusions • This is the model to stick with! • Changes made in stores led to visible changes in consumer purchases • Overall stores are willing to make some changes • Incentives are critical for motivating store owners to make substantial changes • Community engagement and support is essential to ensuring sustainability

  33. Happy Clients!

  34. Questions? Donya Williams Program Development Specialist, Healthy Bodegas Initiative Physical Activity and Nutrition NYC DOHMH 2 Lafayette, 20th Floor NY, NY 10007 212-442-0020 dwillia9@health.nyc.gov www.nyc.gov/health/obesity

More Related