Differences in mobile food market customer outcomes between 2019 and 2021.
Melissa L Horning, Adrianna Bell, Leah Porter and 3 others
PMID 37166791WHAT IT FOUND
Changing the mobile market from every other week to weekly did not show differences in customers' food security, food access, cooking confidence, social connection, or fruit and vegetable intake between 2019 and 2021.
Longer shopping was associated with better food access and intake.
Key findings
01Adjusted models found no significant differences between 2019 and 2021 in the measured outcomes.
02Longer mobile market shopping was associated with better affordable quality food access, higher fruit and vegetable intake, and lower odds of food insecurity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The intended comparison of service frequency was compromised because surveys could not be done in 2020 after the change to weekly service. The 2021 surveys happened only two months after weekly service resumed at six stops, so the pandemic pause, free pantry boxes, and other food relief efforts cannot be separated from the service frequency change. The 2021 sample was 72 customers, while the 2019 sample was 302 customers. Outcomes were brief self-report measures, including a two-item food insecurity measure and a two-item fruit and vegetable intake measure. This was a repeated cross-sectional survey of customers, not a trial, so it cannot show that mobile market shopping caused the outcomes. The paper lists several outcomes and does not identify a single primary outcome.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a conflicts-of-interest declaration. The publication types list NIH and U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that weekly mobile market service improved food security or diet. The 2019-to-2021 comparison showed no significant differences, and pandemic service suspension, free pantry boxes, and food relief efforts make it hard to separate the effect of weekly service.