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Housing costs and financial strain may prompt families to use cost-saving strategies when shopping for food
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Housing costs and financial strain may prompt families to use cost-saving strategies when shopping for food

Caroline Kravitz, M. Pia Chaparro and Brent A. Langellier
Journal of nutrition education and behavior, Forthcoming
Sep 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2026.09.007
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2026.09.007View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

food shopping food shopping behavior housing prices Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
To analyze relationships between area-level housing costs, financial strain, and food shopping behaviors, moderated by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and SNAP purchasing power. Cross-sectional, using nationally representative data from the Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey, 2012-2013. Among SNAP participants, housing costs were associated with 14% higher odds of using coupons in areas with low SNAP purchasing power [OR = 1.14 (95% CI, 1.01, 1.29)]. Among eligible non-participants, high non-discretionary spending was associated with a higher number of weekly food shopping events in areas with high and low purchasing power, respectively [OR = 1.23 (95%, 1.05, 1.45); OR = 1.28, (95% CI, 1.06, 1.55)]. Housing costs and financial strain may encourage low-income households to adopt cost-saving strategies to reduce monthly food bills. Future research should collect more recent, longitudinal FoodAPS-style variables and use quasi-experimental analyses to better understand the associations between financial strain and food shopping, and whether SNAP participation or purchasing power can buffer these relationships.

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