ABSTRACT
Objective Evaluate the effectiveness of the Stellar Farmers' Market program. Design Mixed methods including focus groups and a quasi-experiment comparing a control group of market shoppers who had never attended a class, participants attending 1 class, and participants attending ≥ 2 classes. Setting Eighteen farmers' markets in New York City. Participants A total of 2,063 survey respondents; 47 focus group participants. Intervention Farmers' market–based nutrition education and cooking classes paired with vouchers for fresh produce. Main Outcome Measures Attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetable (FV) preparation and consumption. Analysis Bivariate and regression analysis examined differences in outcomes as a function of number of classes attended. Qualitative analysis based on a grounded theory approach. Results Attending ≥ 1 classes was associated with more positive attitudes toward consuming FV; attending ≥ 2 classes was associated with greater FV consumption and higher self-efficacy to prepare and consume produce. Respondents attending ≥ 2 classes consumed almost one-half cup more FV daily than others. These associations remained after controlling for age, race/ethnicity, education, and gender. Conclusions and Implications Offering nutrition education and cooking classes at farmers' markets may contribute to improving attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors regarding produce preparation and consumption in low-income populations.
Reference:
Dannefer, R., Abrami, A., Rapoport, R., Sriphanlop, P., Sacks, R., Johns, M., A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a SNAP-Ed Farmers' Market–Based Nutrition Education Program. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior. Volume: 47 Issue: 6 Pages: 516-525 Published: NOV/DEC 2015.