Researching Successful Strategies and Barriers for Farmers’ Markets to Serve Low-Income Communities

Start Date: September 2008

ID #: 65049

Principal Investigator: Stephen Davies, MArch

Co-Principal Investigator: Kathryn Neckerman, PhD

Organization: Project for Public Spaces

Funding Round: Round 3

See more related research

Share

This project will examine strategies for implementing farmers’ markets in low-income communities, as well as barriers that need to be addressed to improve the viability of markets in these areas. This research will combine case study analysis and examination of a wide array of existing data collected by Project for Public Spaces (PPS) grantees, each of whom have implemented a variety of strategies to enhance the sustainability and community impact of the market. Specifically, this study seeks to address the following research questions: (1) what strategies are most effective in developing financially sustainable farmers’ markets in low- to moderate-income communities?, (2) what characteristics are most effective in attracting low-income and minority community shoppers to these markets?, and (3) how does youth-oriented farmers’ market programming affect orientation to healthy eating among children and families?

Age Groups: Adolescents (grades 9 to 12), Adults and Families, Elementary-age children (grades K to 5), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5), Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8)

Keywords: Community setting, Farmers' markets, Fruits and vegetables, Urban

States: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Washington, Wisconsin

Focus Area: Food Access

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Race/Ethnicity: Multi-racial/ethnic

Related Research

February 2025

More States and Sponsors Are Providing Grab-and-Go Meals to Children during Summer

In 2023, to respond to increased rates of child food insecurity during the summer Congress authorized states to opt in to allowing noncongregate, or “grab-and-go,” summer meal services for students in rural areas. In the summer of 2023, 46 states and DC opted in, and in the summer of 2024 all 50 states and DC More

January 2025

Beyond Food Assistance: A Scoping Review Examining Associations of Nonfood Social Safety Net Programs in the United States With Food Insecurity and Nutrition Outcomes

This scoping review aims to summarize the state of the evidence on associations between participation in nonfood social safety net programs (eg, income assistance, housing assistance) in the United States and food- and nutrition insecurity–related outcomes. Six databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles. Included articles (n = 65) reported on studies that examined 10 unique social More

January 2024

Food Insecurity and the Child Tax Credit

Food insecurity puts people at risk for many poor physical and mental health outcomes. Food insecurity stayed stable during much of the COVID-19 pandemic but rose significantly from 2021-2022 among U.S. households with children. Many federal supports were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included expansions in food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as More