Implications of Community Supported Agriculture-Farmshare Programs as Alternative Food Networks

INTRODUCTION- The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI), a rating of stores offering mainly unhealthy foods compared to their healthy counterparts] for San Bernardino County in 2007 was 5.7 while California’s was 4.2. High RFEIs indicate ‘food deserts’ where affordable, quality foods are inaccessible due to physical/social/economic/other barriers. Community-Supported-Agriculture-Farmshare programs can supplement other food environment/justice efforts, thereby bridging the food-access gap.

METHODS- For 13 weeks, participants in Waterman Gardens (WGC), a low socio-economic community in San Bernardino, California will receive free Farmshare produce, and will participate in weekly health education, and physical activity sessions. The comparison group, residents within 5-mile of WGC will participate in a weekly physical activity program, and will be waitlisted for similar intervention as intervention’s but moderately incentivized. Study period is April 2014- April 2015. All participants will be surveyed at weeks one, seven, and thirteen of the Farmshare distribution season.

RESULTS- For analyses, repeated-measures analysis-of-variance [comparing trends of outcome variables between intervention and comparison groups across the 3 milestone data collection times (weeks 1, 7, and 13)] will be utilized. Outcome variables include: participants’ BMI/percentage body fat/muscle/visceral fat/resting metabolism/estimated body age; their fruit and vegetables intake/attitudes/subjective norms/perceived behavioral control on practices relative to CSA-Farmshare programs.

DISCUSSION- Study addresses at least two key barriers in CSA-Farmshare programs: economics and education-knowledge about essence of such programs-barriers. The report, replicable nationally, state-wide, county-wide, or at district levels may be a tool to support policy interventions for better access to healthy foods across different socio-economic levels.