Feasibility of Using a Community-Supported Agriculture Program to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Inventories and Consumption in an Underresourced Urban Community

Abstract

IntroductionDirect-to-consumer marketing efforts, such as community-supported agriculture (CSA), have been proposed as a solution for disparities in fruit and vegetable consumption. Evaluations of such efforts have been limited. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a CSA intervention to increase household inventory of fruits and vegetables and fruit and vegetable consumption of residents of an underresourced community.MethodsFor this randomized, controlled feasibility study, we recruited 50 low-income women with children. Intervention (n = 25) participants were offered 5 educational sessions and a box of fresh produce for 16 weeks; control participants were not offered the sessions nor were they included in the produce delivery. We collected data on participants’ home inventory of fruits and vegetables and on their consumption of fruits and vegetables at baseline (May 2012) and postintervention (August and September 2012).ResultsOf 55 potential participants, 50 were enrolled and 44 were reached for follow-up. We observed a significant increase in the number of foods in the household inventory of fruits and vegetables in the intervention group compared with the control group. The intervention group reported greater increases in fruit and vegetable consumption; however, these did not reach significance. Intervention participants picked up produce 9.2 (standard deviation = 4.58) of 16 weeks; challenges included transportation and work schedules. Most participants (20 of 21) expressed interest in continued participation; all stated a willingness to pay $10 per week, and some were willing to pay as much as $25 per week.ConclusionCSA is a feasible approach for providing fresh fruits and vegetables to an underresourced community. Future studies should evaluate the impact of such a program in a larger sample and should take additional steps to facilitate participation.

The contributions of short food supply chains to territorial development: A study of three Quebec territories

“…Furthermore, a better availability of these provincial data would prove useful to complement the knowledge provided by the various essentially monographic studies that we analyzed. Considering that public policies are increasingly considering SFSCs as a tool for territorial development (Marsden et al, 2000;Renting et al, 2003;Goodman, 2004;Van der Ploeg and Renting, 2004), food security and healthy living (Vallianatos et al, 2004;Quandt et al, 2013;Sage et al, 2013;Sadler, 2016), a more detailed and robust knowledge of their effects is essential.…”

Linking vegetable preferences, health and local food systems through community-supported agriculture

“…Given diet-related health disparities associated with income it is important to explore a range of approaches to increase healthy food access. Quandt et al suggest that CSA is a feasible strategy for providing fresh produce to under-resourced communities (38) .…”

Effects of consumer-producer interactions in alternative food networks on consumers’ learning about food and agriculture

“…Studies on CSA primarily explore increased consumption of fruit and vegetables (J. N. Minaker et al, 2014;Wilkins et al, 2015), changes in cooking practices or the frequency of eating out (Andreatta et al, 2008;Curtis et al, 2013), and learning about seasonal crops (Wilkins et al, 2015). Some studies were unable to confirm the hypothesis that CSA participation leads to healthier food consumption habits (Gorland, 2002;Quandt et al, 2013). No comparable studies exist, as far as we know, on food coops or self-harvest gardens.…”