Increasing donations to supermarket food-bank bins using proximal prompts.
A register-top prompt reliably lifts grocery shoppers’ food-bank donations.
01Research in Context
What this study did
van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk et al. (2006) placed a small sign right at the supermarket register.
The sign asked shoppers to place a food item in the donation bin next to the bagging area.
Staff simply kept the bin and sign in place—no extra words or flyers.
What they found
When the prompt sat on the register, customer donations went up.
When the prompt was removed, donations dropped.
Putting the prompt back raised donations again—every time.
How this fits with other research
Sievert et al. (1988) saw the same pattern in fast-food: a cheap sign lifted salad sales.
Cooper et al. (1990) used the ABAB flip in bars and nearly doubled free condom pickups.
Johnson et al. (2024) moved the idea into preschools—weekly emailed prompts kept teachers using better instructions.
All four studies show one clear rule: a tiny prompt at the exact moment of choice changes behavior.
Why it matters
You can boost prosocial acts without extra staff training or cost.
Next time you run a food drive, skip the poster at the door. Tape a polite reminder right where people pay.
Watch the donations rise the same day.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
There has been little research into interventions to increase participation in donating items to food-bank bins. In New Zealand, there has been an increased demand from food banks (Stewart, 2002). This study demonstrated that point-of-sale prompts can be an effective method of increasing donations to a supermarket food-bank bin.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2006 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2006.10-05