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Food Purchasing Behavior of Food Insecure Cancer Patients Receiving Supplemental Food Vouchers

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Abstract

Purpose

Food insecure cancer patients experience worse health outcomes and poorer quality of life than food secure patients. There has been little research in programs to alleviate food insecurity in cancer patients. The objective of this paper is to report on the food purchasing behaviors of cancer patients enrolled in a supplemental food voucher program.

Methods

This paper utilized data from a three-arm randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of food interventions on alleviating food insecurity in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. In one arm, patients received a monthly $230 voucher with which to purchase food. Receipts were collected for items purchased with the voucher and were coded to analyze purchasing behaviors.

Results

Thirty-three patients provided receipts for more than 11,000 individual items. Patients spent 50% of voucher funds on animal protein, fruits, and vegetables. Patients spent, on average, 77% of voucher funds on items categorized as “healthy.”

Conclusions

Patients who received a food voucher purchased more fruits and vegetables than national averages would suggest. They also spent less on sweetened beverages than national samples. Patients who were born outside of the United States or who were limited English proficient purchased significantly more healthy foods than English-speaking and American-born study patients. Supplemental food vouchers for food insecure cancer patients resulted in the purchase of healthy food items.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Cancer Institute P30 CA008748 Core Cancer Center Support Grant; National Cancer Institute R01 CA230446 FOOD (Food to Overcome Outcomes Disparities); National Cancer Institute U54 CA137788 08; the CCNY/MSKCC Partnership for Cancer Research Training & Community Outreach; Laurie Tisch Illumination Fund; New York Community Trust; New York City Council; and Avon Foundation. Devika R. Jutagir was supported by T32 CA009461.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 485 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10017, USA

    Luke Paolantonio, Soo Young Kim, Julia Ramirez, Nicole Roberts-Eversley, Yuelin Li, Irina Melnic, Minlun Wu, Devika R. Jutagir, Julia Smith & Modupe Oladele

  2. Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Medicine, and Department of Public Health, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Francesca Gany

Authors
  1. Luke Paolantonio
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  2. Soo Young Kim
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  3. Julia Ramirez
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  4. Nicole Roberts-Eversley
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  5. Yuelin Li
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  6. Irina Melnic
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  7. Minlun Wu
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  8. Devika R. Jutagir
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  9. Julia Smith
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  10. Modupe Oladele
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  11. Francesca Gany
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Contributions

F.G., J.R., and N.R. designed the research; F.G., L.P., J.R., N. R., I. M., and J.S. conducted research; F.G., L.P., S. K., Y.L., M.W., and M.O. analyzed data; and F.G., L.P., D.J., and M.O. wrote the paper. F.G. had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesca Gany.

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Ethical approval

This project received IRB approval from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and from each study site.

Statement of informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Paolantonio, L., Kim, S.Y., Ramirez, J. et al. Food Purchasing Behavior of Food Insecure Cancer Patients Receiving Supplemental Food Vouchers. Support Care Cancer 28, 3739–3746 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05183-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-05183-4

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