Farm to Families: Increasing access to healthy, local foods through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in food insecure neighborhoods

With the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, particularly among young people living in low-income neighborhoods, policy and environmental changes that foster healthy living have become high public health priorities. St. Christopher's Foundation for Children (SCFC)'s two-year Farm to Families initiative aims to help underserved families in North Philadelphia by offering them greater access to healthy foods through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and weekly nutrition education classes. The initiative also works to amend local and state policies to promote access to healthy food among families living in North Philadelphia. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods this evaluation examines whether and to what extent the initiative effectively stimulates bottom-up support to create and sustain a CSA in North Philadelphia through education, marketing, and improved coordination of services. It identifies the strategic, programmatic, and capacity-related factors that contribute to success and/or challenges throughout the lifespan of this initiative. The evaluation during the pilot year resulted in refinements to the initiative in a number of key areas (e.g. marketing, outreach, education, and infrastructure). Additionally, the program has been able to secure a consistent customer buying base demonstrating consumer demand for fresh, local foods. Participants are also expected to increase knowledge about how and why to eat these foods. This model will increase the availability of healthy, local foods in food insecure areas thus resulting in reduced food insecurity. Additionally, there will be a stronger linkage between local food producers and consumers through the increased capacity of partners all along the value chain.