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ABSTRACT
Receptivity to strategies to improve the food environment by increasing access to healthier foods in small food stores is underexplored. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with small storeowners of different ethnic backgrounds as part of a small-store intervention trial. Store owners perceived barriers and facilitators to purchase, stock, and promote healthy foods. Barriers mentioned included customer preferences for higher fat and sweeter taste and for lower prices; lower wholesaler availability of healthy food; and customers’ lack of interest in health. Most store owners thought positively of taste tests, free samples, and communication interventions. However, they varied in terms of their expectations of the effect of these strategies on customers’ healthy food purchases. The findings reported add to the limited data on motivating and working with small-store owners in low-income urban settings.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Baltimore community members, storeowners, and wholesale staff for their participation, input on the intervention design, and provision of data. We thank Jamie Harding and Amanda Behrens of Center for a Livable Future for creating GIS maps for store recruitment, and BHRR staff members—Debra Liu, Alison Cuccia Sarah Chung, Jodi Askew, Christine Kim, Emily Stone, Anna Kharmats, Cara Shipley, Maggie Leathers, Sarah Rastatter, Claire Welsh, Jae Kim, Yoon Lee, Hyunju Kim, Ah Young Shin, and Brittany Jock—who helped with intervention design and implementation, and data collection.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI) (Grant #1R21HL102812-01A1), the Abell Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins Global Obesity Prevention Center.