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Accepted manuscript

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2025

Grace Grove ,
Nida Ziauddeen Open the ORCID record for Nida Ziauddeen [Opens in a new window] ,
Mary Malone ,
Dianna Smith  and
Nisreen Alwan
Grace Grove*
Affiliation:
School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex, Southampton, UK.
Nida Ziauddeen*
Affiliation:
School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex, Southampton, UK.
Mary Malone
Affiliation:
King’s College London, London, UK
Dianna Smith
Affiliation:
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex, Southampton, UK. School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Nisreen Alwan
Affiliation:
School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex, Southampton, UK. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
*
Corresponding author: Grace Grove g.k.b.grove@soton.ac.uk, Nida Ziauddeen Nida.Ziauddeen@soton.ac.uk Mailpoint 805, South Academic Block, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD
Corresponding author: Grace Grove g.k.b.grove@soton.ac.uk, Nida Ziauddeen Nida.Ziauddeen@soton.ac.uk Mailpoint 805, South Academic Block, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD
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Abstract

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Objective:

This systematic review aimed to explore the impact of food voucher schemes during pregnancy and early life on fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and explore experiences of schemes.

Design:

Six electronic databases and grey literature sources were searched. Interventional, observational, qualitative and mixed methods studies published from January 2000 to April 2024 in English were included.

Setting:

Food voucher interventions targeting F&V intake.

Participants:

Low-income pregnant women and families with young children (aged under 5 years).

Results:

7,344 peer reviewed records, and 103 grey literature documents were screened. Sixteen peer reviewed studies (across eighteen reports) and eight grey literature documents met the inclusion criteria. All studies took place in the UK or the USA. There was a lack of consistency across primary quantitative outcomes. Overall, F&V voucher schemes did appear to increase fruit and/or vegetable consumption, but confidence in this finding was low. Qualitative data was more consistent. F&V vouchers were used in three main ways; as a financial benefit to subsidise food already being purchased, to increase the quantity or variety of F&V purchased, or as a safety net, to be used to ensure that the family had something to eat.

Conclusions:

F&V vouchers may increase F&V intake and are positively received by recipients. This review also highlights some of the difficulties that researchers face in evaluating the impact of public health measures to improve population health. It is clear that more high quality research is required to better understand the impacts of F&V vouchers on individual outcomes.

Keywords

Fruit and vegetablesDiet qualityChildrenVoucher scheme

Information

Type
Systematic Review
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 71
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Authors 2025