Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Americans: Would a Price Reduction Make a Difference?

Diansheng Dong ; Biing-Hwan Lin

United States Department of Agriculture

关键词: Price subsidy;    demand elasticity;    food consumption;    fruits and vegetables;    low income;    Homescan Data;    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);    National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES);    MyPyramid;   

RP-ID  :  ERR-70

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: United States Department of Agriculture Publications

【 摘 要 】

Americans' diets, particularly those of low-income households, fall short of Government recommendations in the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed. Some proposals suggest that a price subsidy for those products would encourage low-income Americans to consume more of them. This study estimated that a 10-percent subsidy would encourage low-income Americans to increase their consumption of fruits by 2.1-5.2 percent and vegetables by 2.1-4.9 percent. The annual cost of such a subsidy for low-income Americans would be about $310 million for fruits and $270 million for vegetables. And most would still not meet Federal dietary recommendations.