S3 Ep. 10 Exploring Health Outcomes of Increased Hourly Wage Among Low-Wage Workers with Dr. Leah Chapman and Dr. Caitlin Caspi

In this episode, Dr. Leah Chapman and Dr. Caitlin Caspi discuss how they hypothesized that an incremental minimum wage ordinance in Minneapolis, Minnesota would increase household income, therefore improving mediators like stress and food security, which could lead to increased purchases and consumption of healthier and more costly foods such as fruits and vegetables. Qualitative interviews indicated that minimum wage increases could cause workers to lose SNAP benefits, offsetting the intended financial benefits of minimum wage ordinances. COVID-19 affected the study in ways that could not have been anticipated, but it shed light on the capacity for changes to SNAP, the effects of inflation on purchasing power in both cities, and ways to adapt in natural experiments. This episode references the article titled "Examining Changes in Food Security, Perceived Stress, and Dietary Intake in a Cohort of Low-Wage Workers Experiencing an Increase in Hourly Wage" by Leah Elizabeth Chapman, PhD, MPH, Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, MPH, Alice Ammerman, DrPH, Molly De Marco, PhD, MPH, Shu Wen Ng, PhD, Catherine Zimmer, PhD, and Caitlin E. Caspi, ScD.