April Bowling|Mikayla Moretti|Kayla Ringelheim|Alvin Tran|Kirsten K. Davison
Healthy Foods, Healthy Families: combining incentives and exposure interventions at urban farmers’ markets to improve nutrition among recipients of US federal food assistance
Harvard University|Farm Foundation|Farm Foundation|Harvard University|Harvard University
background healthy foods healthy families hfhf fruit vegetable fv exposure incentive program implemented farmers markets lowincome neighborhoods targeting families receiving us federal food assistancewe examined program effects participants diet associations attendance demographics dietary changemethods exposure activities included fv tastings cooking demonstrationsincentives included 40 fv bonus electronic benefit transfer ebt card users 20 use purchasing fv every third market visitselfreport surveys measuring nutritional behaviors literacy administered participants upon enrollment n 425 462 hispanic 948 femaleparticipants sampled followup markets midseason n 186 season end n 146attendance tracked 16 weeksresults participants postintervention reported significantly higher vegetable consumption p 0005 lower soda consumption p 0005participants reporting largest fv increases attended market 68 times received 40 incentivesno change food assistance spent fv p 094 70 reported significant increases family consumption fv indicating subsidies increased overall fv purchasingparticipants reported exposure activities incentives similarly affected program attendanceconclusion interventions combining exposure activities modest financial incentives farmers markets lowincome neighborhoods show strong potential improve diet quality families receiving federal food assistance