Women, Infants, and Children Cash Value Benefit Redemption Choices in the Electronic Benefit Transfer Era
Qi Zhang, Junzhou Zhang, Kayoung Park, Chuanyi Tang, Patrick W. McLaughlin, Brian Stacy
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between cash value benefit (CVB) redemption outcomes in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) across food processing types and socio-demographics. Design Cross-sectional and panel analyses. Setting Virginia. Subjects 98,067 Virginia WIC households. Measures CVB redemption rate. Results The predominant share of CVB redemption was for fresh produce (77.3%). Non-Hispanic whites and blacks redeemed a smaller share of fresh produce than Hispanic participants ( P < .001). Non-Hispanic black WIC households have a significantly lower CVB redemption rate than non-Hispanic white WIC households (β = −.008, P < .001). Households with a child participant tend to have a higher redemption rate (β = .01, P < .001). The redemption rates of fruits and of vegetables were positively correlated with household size. Conclusions Minority status and household size were significantly related to CVB redemptions among Virginia WIC participants.