Availability, Price, and Quality of Fruits and Vegetables in 12 Rural Montana Counties, 2014

Prev Chronic Dis. 2015 Aug 13:12:E128. doi: 10.5888/pcd12.150158.

Abstract

We assessed the consumer food environment in rural areas by using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) to measure the availability, price, and quality of fruits and vegetables. We randomly selected 20 grocery stores (17 rural, 3 urban) in 12 Montana counties using the 2013 US Department of Agriculture's rural-urban continuum codes. We found significant differences in NEMS-S scores for quality of fruits and vegetables; of 6 possible points, the mean quality score was 4.5; of rural stores, the least rural stores had the highest mean quality scores (6.0). Intervention strategies should aim to increase fruit and vegetable quality in rural areas.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Chronic Disease / prevention & control
  • Commerce / statistics & numerical data
  • Food Assistance / statistics & numerical data
  • Food Supply / classification
  • Food Supply / economics
  • Food Supply / standards*
  • Fruit / economics
  • Fruit / standards*
  • Fruit / supply & distribution
  • Humans
  • Montana
  • Nutrition Surveys / methods
  • Nutritive Value
  • Poverty / statistics & numerical data
  • Rural Population / classification
  • Rural Population / statistics & numerical data*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • United States
  • United States Department of Agriculture
  • Urban Population / classification
  • Urban Population / statistics & numerical data*
  • Vegetables / economics
  • Vegetables / standards*
  • Vegetables / supply & distribution