Introduction of farm stands in low-income communities increases fruit and vegetable among community residents

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Publication Details

Output type: Journal article

Author list: Evans AE, Jennings R, Smiley AW, Medina JL, Sharma SV, Rutledge R, Stigler MH, Hoelscher DM

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication year: 2012

Journal: Health & Place (1353-8292)

Volume number: 18

Issue number: 5

Start page: 1137

End page: 1143

Number of pages: 7

ISSN: 1353-8292

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Open access status: closed

Abstract

The purpose of this longitudinal pilot study was to measure the impact of introducing farm stands in low-income communities with limited access to fresh and quality fruits and vegetables (F&V) on residents' F&V consumption. Two farm stands were placed outside two local community sites one day a week for 12 weeks. A variety of locally grown, culturally appropriate produce was sold at the stands. Data on F&V intake, awareness and usage of farmers' markets, family behaviors, and importance of eating F&V were collected from individuals (n=61) before and after farm stands were placed in the two communities. Paired sample t-tests, chi-square and McNemar tests were used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the outcome variables. Significance level was set at p<.05. Significant increases were found for participants' consumption of fruit, fruit juice, tomatoes, green salad, and other vegetables (P<.05). Additionally, participants also reported increases in mediating variables of F&V consumption. This study underscores the potential of farmers' markets to increase F&V consumption through increasing F&V access in low-income communities. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

Environmental change, Farmers' market, Food access, Fruit and vegetable consumption, Low-income communities

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