TABLE 1.

Summary of Key Household Variables

VariableDescriptionVariable Type
Purchase of maize flour
Purchased packaged (fortified) maize flour1= Household purchased maize flour in packaged and sealed formDummy
Price paidAverage price paid for maize flour (KES/gram)Continuous
Distance traveledAverage distance traveled to purchase maize flour (km)Continuous
Main shopper characteristics
Age of main shopperAge of the main shopper in the household (years)Continuous
Secondary school education1=Main shopper has at least some secondary school educationDummy
Female1=Main shopper is femaleDummy
Notice signs1=Main shopper notices signs that encourage healthy purchases when shoppingDummy
Notice nutrition information1=Main shopper notices nutrition information or nutrition labels on packaged foodsDummy
Notice fortified status1=Main shopper notices the fortification status of food products before purchaseDummy
Fortified status: Most importanta1=Main shopper reports that fortification is among the most important food attributesDummy
Fortified status: Least importanta1=Main shopper reports that fortification is among the least important food attributesDummy
Household characteristics
Female-headed household1=Household head is femaleDummy
No. adultsNumber of adults in the householdContinuous
No. childrenNumber of children in the householdContinuous
Poverty likelihoodbLikelihood (%) that a household is below US$3.20/day international poverty levelContinuous
More poor1=Household is above the median poverty likelihood valueDummy
Less poor1=Household is below the median poverty likelihood valueDummy
Farm household1=Household is involved in farmingDummy
Food environment characteristics
Packaged (fortified) maize flour in food environment1= Home food environment has at least one outlet selling packaged (fortified) maize flourDummy
No. outlets selling packaged (fortified) maize flourNumber of outlets in the home food environment that offer packaged (fortified) maize flourContinuous
Density of outlets selling packaged (fortified) maize flour in home food environmentNumber of outlets per km2 that offer packaged (fortified) maize flour in the home food environment
Price of packaged (fortified) maize flourMedian purchase price of packaged (fortified) maize flour in the enumeration area (KES/kg)Continuous
Price premium for packaged (fortified) maize flourGap between median price of packaged and unpackaged maize flour in the enumeration area (KES/kg)Continuous
Geographic characteristics
Nairobi urban1= Household resides in urban NairobiDummy
Nairobi peri-urban1= Household resides in peri-urban NairobiDummy
Kisumu urban1= Household resides in urban KisumuDummy
Kisumu peri-urban1= Household resides in peri-urban KisumuDummy
  • a Respondents were presented with a list of 18 food attributes and asked to select their 4 most important and 4 least important attributes.

  • b This measure of each household’s likelihood of poverty is based on scores given to 10 indicators, including household size, number of habitable rooms and wall material of the dwelling unit, ownership of a television or mobile phone, whether the household contains any member with a disability, and the nature of household members’ work, literacy, and education. The resulting score is converted into probabilities of falling below the US$3.20/day poverty line.31 These probabilities are then used to categorize households as having a low or high likelihood of poverty, based on whether they are below or above the median poverty likelihood score.