An Assessment of the Factors Associated with Grocery Shopping Frequency for Georgia SNAP-Ed Participants

abstract:The current research examined participants’ self-reported data from the SNAP-Ed program in 2018 and 2019 in eight target counties in northern Georgia. Store proximity clusters were explicitly described using the k-means clustering method. OLS regression models identified the relationship between shopping frequency and store proximity, preferred retailers, and car usage. There is a significant association between store preference and both the number of stores used and shopping frequency. However, the store proximity clusters, and car use were not significantly associated with the number of shopping trips. This study suggests that factors beyond proximity shape food access and shopping behavior.