Will kids use coupons to buy healthier snacks? Initial findings from the CHOMPS Project

Introduction: Children spend considerable amounts of money on independent food purchases in convenience stores, with much of this spent on energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods. However, little is understood about how to influence this behavior to improve diets. The Coupons for Healthier Options for Minors Purchasing Snacks (CHOMPS) is a USDA-funded pilot project set in Somerville, MA aimed at assessing the potential for kids-only coupons to guide children away from EDNP foods and towards more healthful alternatives when shopping in small retail outlets during non-school time.  Methods: The three-step intervention involves 1) a natural observation phase, in which baseline data are collected about children’s purchasing habits; 2) a “coupon intervention” phase, in which coupons of various discount amounts are put in place for both healthier and competing snacks to gauge children’s price responsiveness; and 3) an individual assessment phase, in which potential child shoppers participate in individual interviews about the in-store coupons, as well as language and cognitive assessments. Results: This session will report on the results of the first two phases of the pilot round (Feb. 2014 – June 2015), focusing on the observed purchase patterns of children in participating convenience stores and their responses to the coupon intervention in these stores.  Additionally, initial results from the individual assessment phase will be discussed. Discussion: Our initial results indicate that kids-only coupons could play a role in shifting snacking behavior, and future research will explore the scalability of the CHOMPS project into additional rural and urban environments.