Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2003, pp.

111--119

Grapes of Wrath: Discrimination

in the Produce Aisle
Richard Topolski∗
Augusta State University

Kimberly A. Boyd-Bowman
Augusta State University

Heather Ferguson
Augusta State University

Discrimination against minorities and people of lower social economic status is

often hard to prove quantitatively. One way to measure discrimination concretely
is to examine the quality of goods available to people of different races and so-
cioeconomic status (SES). We investigated the quality of supermarket produce in
neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic status (high, medium, and low SES).
Fresh fruit was purchased from 3 different locations of 2 separate supermarket
chains in a mid-sized southern city, for a total of 6 stores for comparison. Par-
ticipants used 2 methods to record their perceptions of fruit quality in terms of
both appearance and taste: a relative ranking of each fruit and a 9-point Likert
scale. Results indicate that supermarkets in the lowest socioeconomic area had
the poorest quality fruit and the markets in the highest SES had the best fruit. The
results are discussed in terms of their potential implication on health and lifestyle
factors for lower SES individuals.

Social and economic discrimination based on such factors as race, ethnicity,

and gender remain pernicious factors of daily life for many individuals in American
society. Although it is assumed to be “common knowledge” that inequalities exist

∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard Topolski, Department of

Psychology, Augusta State University, Augusta, GA 30904 [e-mail: rtopolsk@aug.edu].
The authors would like to thank John Sappington for his insightful comments on the manuscript.

111

C 2003 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
112 Topolski, Boyd-Bowman, and Ferguson

in such diverse economic and social domains as hiring policy, housing availability,
and quality of goods, it has been difficult to develop an objective, reliable measure
to validate these speculations. For example, one area where it has been difficult to
obtain objective measures is in the discrepancies in quality of perishable grocery
items available to individuals based on race and/or socioeconomic status. Although
a number of studies (e.g., Ambrose, 1979; Campbell & Chisholm, 1970) have
established that perishable goods often cost more in grocery stores servicing lower
socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods than in those servicing higher SES
neighborhoods, objective data about the quality of these kinds of goods have been
harder to verify.
A report by the U.S. House Select Committee on Hunger (1990) showed that
inner-city neighborhoods typically have more expensive, lower quality groceries.
Endo’s (1970) research further confirmed these findings. He compared pricing
and quality of items in grocery stores located in low and high SES areas in San
Francisco. Both studies showed that locally owned stores in the inner-city neigh-
borhoods had poorer quality goods at significantly higher prices than stores in areas
with higher SES populations. However, a major methodological flaw of both stud-
ies is the comparison of individually owned mom-and-pop inner-city stores with
the larger chain-based suburban supermarkets. Differential cost factors, such as in-
surance and rent, were partially responsible for the observed difference in pricing.
Furthermore, supermarket chains are often able to secure better produce at lower
prices through bulk purchasing. In both studies, stores were examined through ob-
servations that included evaluating the quality of perishable items. However, the
results have to be viewed with some degree of skepticism because the data were the
results of the experimenter’s subjective judgment of quality and thus were subject
to experimenter bias.
The goals of the current study are (a) to address some of the methodological
concerns in prior studies by employing double-blind methodology for unbiased
assessment of produce quality and (b) to obtain objective, quantifiable data that
evidence the SES-based discrimination that is assumed to be present in the quality
of available produce. It is predicted that produce quality will be significantly poorer
in stores servicing lower SES neighborhoods than in stores servicing higher SES
neighborhoods.

Method

Raters

Raters were 18 students from an upper-level psychology course at a small

southern university who took part in the experiment as a course assignment. The
average age of the raters was 24.28; 6 were male and 12 were female.
Grapes of Wrath: Discrimination in the Produce Aisle 113

Materials

Strawberries, bananas, and green grapes were purchased on the evening before
the study from three different store locations of two major grocery chains. To
guarantee unbiased fruit selection, we predetermined that the fruit placed in the
lowest left corner of the produce display of any given supermarket would be
purchased for the experiment. None of the fruit purchased was discounted, and no
effort was made to alter the appearance of the fruit. The fruit was removed from
its original packaging and placed on identical white paper plates.
A series of color-coded forms—pink for strawberries, yellow for bananas, and
green for grapes—was used to judge fruit freshness in terms of both appearance
and taste. To avoid letter-preference influences on participants’ judgments, we
used random line drawings to denote each sample and its corresponding response
on the color-coded form. Each form contained a 9-point Likert scale for the fruit
samples and an area where participants could rank order the fruits of a given variety
(i.e., grapes, strawberries, or bananas).

Design and Procedure

A within-subject 3 (SES neighborhoods: low, middle class, upper middle

class) × 2 (grocery store chains: store Y, store Z) factorial design was employed.
Two separate sources were employed to measure socioeconomic status: median
income from the 2000 U.S. census and median house prices. According to the
census data, the median incomes for the ZIP code areas in which each super-
market is located were $36,263 and $14,232 for the low SES neighborhoods,
$38,947 and $54,222 for the middle SES neighborhoods, and $54,222 and $70,809
for the high SES neighborhoods, for store chains Y and Z, respectively. One of
the high SES grocery stores and one of the middle SES grocery stores have an
identical median income of $54,222 because they are located within the same
ZIP code. The 2000 census data do not provide specific measures of median
incomes within a particular ZIP code. However, thematic graphs of income dis-
tribution generated from census data indicate that median household income was
between $35,761 and $49,010 for the middle SES neighborhood and between
$56,500 and $92,765 for the high SES neighborhood encompassed within this ZIP
code.
Housing costs were determined by calculating the median home price of a
random sample of 8 houses on the market at the time of the study that were located
within a half-mile radius of each grocery store; this information was obtained from
a local realtor’s Web site (Meybohm Realtors, n.d.). The data from the housing
analysis were consistent with the census data in showing SES differences between
the neighborhoods based on the chosen economic measures. Median home prices
114 Topolski, Boyd-Bowman, and Ferguson

were $57,700 and $57,400 in the low SES neighborhoods, $75,400 and $105,600
for the middle SES neighborhoods, and $140,900 and $274,700 for the high SES
neighborhoods.
The 2000 census data were also used to determine the percentage of the
population identified as minority in each of the neighborhoods. For the purpose
of this study, minority population was operationally defined by subtracting the
percentage of Caucasians living in a neighborhood from 100%. The census data
were consistent with the measures of SES by showing that higher percentages
of minorities lived in the lower SES neighborhoods: 59% and 89% in the low
SES neighborhoods, 39.3% and 17.6% in the middle SES neighborhoods, and
17.6% and 15.3% in the high SES neighborhoods. Once again, one of the high
SES grocery stores is located within the same ZIP code as one of the middle SES
grocery stores. However, the census data do not permit any refined analysis on
that variable.
Samples of each fruit type were placed on tables at separate locations in
a classroom. Fruits from each of the 6 stores were arranged randomly on each
table. Both the experimenters and the raters were naı̈ve as to the store location
from which each sample was purchased. The raters were divided into three six-
person groups; each group initially judged a different fruit type. Raters utilized
two methods to judge the freshness of each fruit: (a) a 9-point Likert scale, with
1 being extremely rotten and 9 being extremely fresh, and (b) a relative ranking
of each fruit of a given type from most to least fresh. Raters were monitored to
ensure that they did not discuss their ratings. Once all of the members of each
group completed rating a fruit type, the groups rotated clockwise in unison to
the next type of fruit. While rater groups changed stations, the experimenters
rearranged the order of the plates on each table to avoid location bias. This process
was repeated until each participant rated every fruit. Appearance rating forms were
collected from the raters, and they were instructed to sit down at their desks and wait
quietly.
The investigators then removed the fruit samples from the room and cut them
into bite-size pieces. The fruit was placed back on the plates and the rating proce-
dure was repeated, except this time the raters were required to rate and rank order
the fruit according to taste. If the raters deemed the fruit unfit to taste, they were
instructed to record RFT (refused to taste) next to the appropriate symbol. Total
running time was approximately 60 minutes, after which raters were debriefed and
allowed to leave.

Results

For each rater, data were collapsed across types of fruit to provide a single
measure of freshness according to ratings for appearance, rank orders for appear-
ance, ratings for taste, and rank orders for taste.
Grapes of Wrath: Discrimination in the Produce Aisle 115

Table 1. Mean Scores for Appearance and Taste of Fruits by SES Level
Mean scores Standard deviation
SES
level Appearance Taste Appearance Taste
Low 2.46 2.53 1.22 .96
Medium 3.30 3.47 1.29 1.19
High 4.74 4.50 .88 .65
Note. Higher scores indicate positive ratings.

Appearance Scale

Nine-point scale ratings for appearance. The participants’ freshness ratings

of fruit appearance via a 9-point Likert scale were subjected to a 3 (SES neighbor-
hoods: low, medium, high) × 2 (store chain Y, store chain Z) repeated measures
ANOVA. Alpha was set at .05 for all comparisons. Consistent with our main hy-
pothesis, a significant main effect was found for perceived freshness according to
the SES neighborhood in which the store was located, F(2, 34) = 105.60, MSE =
.94, p < .001, d = 1.00 (see Table 1). Overall, fruit from lower SES neighborhoods
was perceived as appearing less fresh than fruit from higher SES neighborhoods.
However, no main effects were found between the two store chains, F(1, 17) =
.54, MSE = .61, p = .54, d = .11. Thus, participants did not perceive one store
chain as having fresher fruit than the other.
A significant interaction was found between supermarket chain and neigh-
borhood income level, F(2, 34) = 25.82, MSE = .45, p < .001, d = 1.00. Overall,
supermarket chain Z had greater discrepancies in fruit quality according to SES
neighborhood than did store chain Y. Post hoc comparisons revealed that both su-
permarket chains had significant differences in fruit quality between their low and
high SES locations, but only supermarket chain Z showed differences between its
low and middle SES locations.

Rank order for appearance. Separate Friedman ANOVAs were performed on

participants’ rank ordering for fruit according to store chain and SES neighbor-
hood. Significant differences were found for both store chain Y and store chain
Z, χ 2 (2, N = 18) = 15.11, p < .001, and χ 2 (2, N = 18) = 32.11, p < .001, re-
spectively. Consistent with our hypothesis, fruits from high SES neighborhoods
were consistently rated as appearing the freshest, whereas fruits from low SES
neighborhoods were consistently rated as the least fresh (see Table 2).

Taste Scale

Nine-point scale ratings for taste. The participants’ freshness ratings of fruit
taste via a 9-point Likert scale were subjected to a 3 (SES neighborhood: low,
116 Topolski, Boyd-Bowman, and Ferguson

Table 2. Rank Ordering for Appearance and Taste of Fruits by SES Level and Store
Store Y Store Z
SES
level Appearance Taste Appearance Taste
Low 4.28 4.04 4.80 3.71
Medium 3.73 3.61 3.68 2.79
High 2.87 2.94 1.65 2.27
Note. Lower scores indicate positive ratings.

medium, high) by 2 (store chain Y, store chain Z) repeated measures ANOVA.

Overall, the results of the taste experiment closely mirrored the visual rating results.
A significant main effect was found for neighborhood income level,
F(2, 28) = 10.01, MSE = 1.13, p < .001, d = .98. Overall, fruits from lower
SES neighborhoods were rated as tasting less fresh than fruits from higher SES
neighborhoods. According to raters’ taste preferences, fruit from store chain Y
was perceived as fresher than fruit from store chain Z, F(1, 14) = 12.71, MSE =
1.10, p < .05, d = .91. However, there was no significant interaction found
between neighborhood income level in which the store was located and store
chain, F(2, 28) = 1.36, MSE = .83, p > .05, d = .27. Subsequent analysis
revealed that participants were much more likely to refuse to taste a particular fruit
purchased from stores located in lower SES neighborhoods (N = 33) than from
medium (N = 23) or higher (N = 8) SES neighborhoods, χ 2 (2, N =
54) = 36.54, p < .001.

Rank order for taste. Separate Friedman ANOVAs were performed on par-
ticipants’ rank ordering for fruit according to store chain and SES neighborhood.
Three participants refused to taste the fruit from the grocery store (store chain Z)
located in a low-income SES neighborhood and were dropped from the analysis.
Significant differences were found for both store chain Y and store chain Z, χ 2 (2,
N = 15) = 8.82, p < .001, and χ 2 (2, N = 15) = 22.78, p < .001, respectively. Once
again, fruits from high SES neighborhoods were consistently rated as tasting the
freshest, whereas fruits from low SES neighborhoods were rated as tasting the least
fresh.

Discussion

Consistent with our hypothesis, the results indicate that participants rated pro-
duce from supermarkets in low SES neighborhoods as both appearing and tasting
less fresh than their counterparts in high SES neighborhood supermarkets. Pre-
sumably these results reflect differential quality of produce items between stores
within a given supermarket chain based on their location in neighborhoods of vary-
ing SES. The researchers further believe that the results could easily be extended
Grapes of Wrath: Discrimination in the Produce Aisle 117

to other forms of perishable foods. A report by the U.S. House of Representa-

tives (1969) to the Federal Trade Commission suggested that differential qualities
also exist in meat and vegetable selection, areas that are certainly open to further
investigation using a similar methodology.
One explanation for these findings is a differential quality of management at
the different store locations. Management positions in higher SES neighborhoods
may be associated with higher wages and thus may attract a higher caliber manage-
ment and staff. However, data on net wages of the managers of the different stores
were not available. Further research needs to be done to establish the validity of
a correlation between manager salary and quality of perishable goods. Although
we were unable to obtain data on managers’ salaries, interviews with staff and
management at all store locations of both chains failed to indicate any procedural
deviations from official store policies and procedures concerning produce care and
rotation.
A potential shortcoming with the current study is that individuals who live
in a neighborhood may not shop in that neighborhood. However, several studies
have documented that the poor rely more on public transportation, own fewer cars,
and have greater expenses associated with transportation than the rich (Sharpe &
Abdel-Ghany, 1999). Thus, lower SES individuals are confined in their shopping
choices because of restricted mobility. This restriction decreases the likelihood that
they are shopping for basic goods, such as groceries, in high SES neighborhoods
in large numbers. Furthermore, given the dramatic differences in produce quality,
it seems improbable that individuals from higher SES neighborhoods would opt
to shop at stores with inferior goods, and thus it is unlikely they would choose to
purchase groceries at stores in the lower SES neighborhoods.
There are a number of far-reaching consequences given that all available
evidence indicates that individuals in lower SES neighborhoods receive fewer
options and lower quality of perishable groceries. In the absence of fewer quality
perishable goods, such individuals may resort to purchasing nutritionally inferior
grocery items such as processed or junk foods, as noted by Treiman et al. (1996).
As a result, they will have reduced intake of vitamins and minerals considered
essential for a maximally healthy development. In addition to the personal cost to
these individuals, there exists a potential for the incursion of long-term societal
costs in areas such as health care and education.
Data seemingly support the notion that poor and minority individuals are
generally less healthy than their wealthy and Caucasian counterparts. Obesity is
more prevalent among women, ethnic minorities, and the poor (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, 2000). Dietary factors are thought to play a role
in 4 of the 10 most common causes of death: cancer, coronary heart disease, type
2 diabetes, and stroke (National Center for Health Statistics, 1997). One goal of
Healthy People 2010, a U.S. government–sponsored health initiative, is to reduce
obesity through healthy diet and exercise. According to the guidelines of Healthy
118 Topolski, Boyd-Bowman, and Ferguson

People 2010, the recommended diet should include two or more servings of fresh
fruit daily. However, African Americans are less likely to meet this guideline
on a consistent basis than Caucasians (U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2000). The scarcity of adequate fresh fruit options may be one of the
factors influencing this disparity.
The current study provides a good objective methodology for studying one
form of probable institutionalized discrimination. Our findings are consistent with
previous studies over the last 30 years that have employed more subjective method-
ologies such as interviews and nonblind ratings by the experimenters themselves.
The utilization of a more objective method lends greater weight to the hypothesis
that differences in produce quality are the result of widespread policies promoting
differential treatment of consumers based on SES and/or race. Further research
using objective measures is necessary to establish whether the trend observed in
this study is a local, regional, or national phenomenon as well as to establish the
underlying cause of the discrepancies in the quality of perishable goods. If further
research shows that these discrepancies are systematic and widespread, then it
may be necessary to enact governmental policies to ensure equal access to quality
produce and other perishable goods.

References

Ambrose, D. (1979). Retail grocer pricing: Inner city, suburban, and rural comparisons. Journal of
Business, 52(1), 95–102.
Campbell, W., & Chisholm, M. (1970). Local variation in retail grocery prices. Urban Studies, 7(1),
76–81.
Endo, R. (1970). Food stores in the low-income marketplace: A research note. University of Washington
Journal of Sociology, 2, 15–27.
Meybohm Realtors. (n.d.). Augusta real estate, North Augusta homes for sale, Fort Gordon, photos,
Meybohm Realtors. Available at: http://www.meybohm.com. Accessed March 10, 2002.
National Center for Health Statistics. (1997). Report of final mortality statistics, 1995. Monthly Vital
Statistics Report (Vol. 45, No. 11). Hyattsville, MD: Author.
Sharpe, D. L., & Abdel-Ghany, M. (1999). Identifying the poor and their consumption patterns. Family
Economics and Nutrition Review, 12(2), 15–25.
Treiman, K., Freimuth, V., Damron, D., Lasswell, A., Anliker, J., Havas, S., et al. (1996). Attitudes
and behaviors related to fruits and vegetables among low-income women in the WIC program.
Journal of Nutrition Education, 28(3), 149–156.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010 (2nd ed., Vols. 1–2).
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. House of Representatives. (1969). Economic report on food chain selling practices in the District
of Columbia and San Francisco (No. 29–311). Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. House Select Committee on Hunger. (1990, January/February). Obtaining food: Shopping con-
straints of the poor. The Black Scholar, 20, 7–16.

RICHARD TOPOLSKI is an assistant professor of psychology at Augusta State

University, Augusta, Georgia. He earned his BA from his hometown university,
SUNY Buffalo. He went on to receive his PhD in 1996 from Binghamton University
in New York.
Grapes of Wrath: Discrimination in the Produce Aisle 119

KIMBERLY A. BOYD-BOWMAN received a BA in psychology and women’s

studies from SUNY Buffalo and an MS in psychology from Augusta State
University. She currently works as a psychologist for the inpatient mental health
unit of Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her research interests include
gender differences, sexuality, and social inequality.

HEATHER FERGUSON received her BS from Lander University in South

Carolina and is currently working on her MS at Augusta State University.