210779 Developing Farmers' Markets at Boys and Girls Clubs: The Veggie Project

Monday, November 9, 2009: 2:30 PM

Darcy A. Freedman, PhD , College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Mary Kate Mouser , Director, Children's Health Improvement and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Bobby Lee Smith , Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, Nashville, TN
The Veggie Project is a community-based participatory action research study in Nashville, TN that took place during the summers of 2007-2009. This environmental intervention involved the establishment of produce stands at four Boys & Girls Clubs. The Clubs are located in “food deserts” or areas with limited or no access to stores selling healthful foods. As an action research study, each year of the project evolved based on lessons learned from the prior year. In 2008, two revisions were made to the project. First, a Youth Leader Board was developed to provide more opportunities for youth to own and operate this community-based intervention. Second, to address economic barriers to accessing healthful foods, produce stand customers could receive up to $20.00 in vouchers for purchasing fruits and vegetables from the stands. This presentation will review the collaborative research process involving the Boys & Girls Clubs, a children's hospital, local farmers, and a university; discuss the participatory and youth-engaged intervention approach; review consumer demand for foods sold at the stand; and highlight shopping patterns among produce stand customers. The presentation will conclude by reviewing research, policy, and practice implications for efforts aimed at changing local food environments through community-engaged and participatory action methods.

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate the feasibility of community-based participatory models to address disparities in food access. Compare processes for developing community partnerships that increase access to food

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: conducted research where community-based partnerships were developed to increase access to produce
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.