[RP TownTalk] The Farmers’ Market Effect - study shows veggie vouchers for farmers markets do increase fruit & veggie consumption among poor

[Dwight Holmes]

too bad the money they're proposing is a pittance ($8/mo for the
mother + $6/mo per child) - Dwight

"It's not clear why mothers visiting a farmers' market wound up buying
more vegetables than grocery store shoppers, but some women told the
researchers that the produce sold at markets seemed to be fresher and
of higher quality than supermarket offerings. Many shoppers also said
they enjoyed the pleasant community experience and the chance to
interact directly with growers, the authors noted."



The Farmers' Market Effect
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/the-farmers-market-effect/index.html?ex=1358139600&en=2d3643ccd5dcfccf&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

"Vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers'
market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families, a
new study shows.

"The research, published this month in the American Journal of Public
Health, comes just as states are making important changes to national
nutrition programs. For years, the federally-funded Women, Infants and
Children (W.I.C.) program, which subsidizes food purchases for
low-income women and young children, hasn't included fruits and
vegetables, except for fruit juice and carrots for breastfeeding
women. After a push by health groups and a recent report from the
Institute of Medicine, the United States Department of Agriculture in
December revised W.I.C. to include monthly subsidies for fruits and
vegetables. States will begin implementing the new rules in February."

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles tracked the
eating habits of 602 area women taking part in the federal W.I.C.
program. Some of the women were given $10 in weekly vouchers for
vegetable and fruit purchases at a nearby farmers' market or
supermarket, while a control group received coupons for non-food
products in exchange for sharing information about eating habits.

After six months, women who shopped at the farmers' markets were
eating about three additional servings of fruits and vegetables a day,
compared to the control group. Supermarket shoppers consumed 1.5 extra
servings.

It's not clear why mothers visiting a farmers' market wound up buying
more vegetables than grocery store shoppers, but some women told the
researchers that the produce sold at markets seemed to be fresher and
of higher quality than supermarket offerings. Many shoppers also said
they enjoyed the pleasant community experience and the chance to
interact directly with growers, the authors noted.

While this latest report shows that subsidizing fruit and vegetable
purchases can make a big difference in eating habits among low-income
people, it also suggests that the new amounts recently approved for
W.I.C. fall far short of what is needed. The U.C.L.A. study gave women
$10 a week, while the W.I.C. program will provide monthly vouchers
worth $8 to each recipient and $6 to each child. Breastfeeding women
will receive just $10 a month toward fruits and vegetables.
-- 
"[Why do our men] trifle away their time, scald their Chops, and spend
their Money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty bitter
stinking, nauseous Puddle water?"    --Women's Petition Against Coffee
(London, 1674)

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