Published: October 2015

ID #: 65054

Journal: Prev Chronic Dis

Authors: Gorham G, Dulin-Keita A, Risica PM et al.

See more related research

Share


Increasing access to farmers’ markets is a recommended approach to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. However, there are challenges to increasing access in underserved and lower-income neighborhoods, including short growing seasons, lack of access to culturally appropriate or desired produce, and high cost of produce at farmers’ markets. The “Fresh to You” program, a partnership between Brown University and a local produce distributor, offers a potential solution by bringing year-round, discount produce markets to six convenient community locations in lower-income neighborhoods. This study evaluated the “Fresh to You” program’s impact on children’s consumption of fruits and vegetables. Parents of children ages 3 to 13 years were recruited at the markets to participate in a five-month cohort study. Parents completed a baseline survey, a follow-up survey five months later, and participated in focus groups. They answered questions about their children’s fruit and vegetable intake using a validated food frequency questionnaire. From baseline to five months, there was a statistically significant increase in children’s daily fruit and vegetable consumption of almost half a cup. Feedback from parents and gatekeepers at market sites indicated that the market was well received, but affordability remained an issue for many families.

Related Research

September 2008

Identifying and Evaluating Food Environment Changes Improving Access to Affordable Healthy Foods in Low-Income Communities

The goal of this research is to evaluate the Fresh to You (FTY) program, which aims to increase year-round access to affordable, high-quality, fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income families through implementation of year-round discount fruit and vegetable markets in community organizations. Specifically, this work will consist of (a) conducting process evaluations of FTY in More

September 2025

Food Insecurity-Related Stigma Among Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review

This review aimed to characterize individual- and structural-level stigma associated with government (ie, SNAP, WIC) and emergency food program (ie, food banks, pantries, cupboards, soup kitchens) utilization in the US. 5 databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts) were searched in June 2024. The review included peer-reviewed articles (January 2004 – June 2024), More

August 2025

Resources to Improve Implementation of the Healthy Eating Research (HER) Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System

This guide contains training materials, resources, tips, and examples of practices to help food banks improve the implementation of Healthy Eating Research (HER) Nutrition Guidelines for the Charitable Food System. To create this guide, the research team interviewed people working in food banks across the country to learn how they approach ranking foods using the More