Systematic review of fruit and vegetable voucher interventions for pregnant women and families with young children

Summary

This systematic review synthesised evidence from 16 peer-reviewed studies and 8 grey literature documents on the effectiveness of fruit and vegetable voucher schemes for low-income pregnant women and families with young children in the United Kingdom and United States. Whilst quantitative findings were inconsistent across studies, qualitative data consistently showed vouchers were used as financial subsidies, to increase F&V variety and quantity, or as food security safety nets. The review concludes that voucher schemes likely increase F&V intake with positive recipient reception, though high-quality research remains limited.

Regional applicability

The review directly examines UK interventions and includes UK-based schemes alongside United States evidence, making findings directly applicable to UK policy and practice. The findings support consideration of voucher schemes as a policy tool to improve fruit and vegetable consumption in disadvantaged populations, though the review identifies the need for more robust UK-specific evaluation evidence.

Key measures

Fruit and vegetable consumption frequency and quantity; qualitative experiences of voucher use; study quality and consistency of outcomes across included studies

Outcomes reported

The study assessed the impact of fruit and vegetable voucher interventions on consumption patterns among pregnant women and families with young children, and explored user experiences and implementation pathways of such schemes.

Topic tags