Nine UW- Eau Claire students — Shelly Stephani, Nathan Gilger, Levi Soborowicz, Jared Fogarty, Emma Halverson, Rivin Perinchery, Nevada Sweitzer, Benjamin Miller and Kelly Schneider —have been studying eating habits and usage of SNAP food assistance for the last year and a half. These students wanted to see if the spending habits of low-income households in Wisconsin followed national patterns.
These students presented their research on May 1st and were interviewed by the Leader-Telegram after their presentation. The article is linked at the bottom of the page.
In the article, one of the students, Nathan Gilger is quoted saying, “In sweetened beverages, we found Eau Claire is much better at making healthy choices." The data from a Wisconsin grocery store chain showed that 13.5% of groceries bought with a SNAP card were fruits and vegetable compared to the national data which puts fruits and vegetables bought with a SNAP card at 11.9% of groceries.
The student research team was lead by economics professor Dr. Jamelske. He emphasized the importance of this research in the field of economics in the following way, "The American diet is a concern in economics because poor eating habits are a major factor in rising health care costs."
To learn more about this research you can read the Leader-Telegram article below or get in touch with the UW-Eau Claire Economics Department.
Link to Article: Shopping for Better Health
