Spring 1995 (v7n2)
Jean Ann Anliker, Mark Winne and Linda T Drake
Journal of Nutrition Education. 24(4): 185-191. 1992
In 1989, Connecticut was one of ten states that received USDA funding to provide some of its WIC (Women, Infant and Children nutrition program) participants with special coupons to purchase fresh produce at farmers' markets. Matching funds came from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health Services. A total of 3 7,71 1 WIC participants received an additional $10 in coupons for fresh fruit and vegetables, redeemable only at farmers' markets. Overall goals of the Farmers' Market Coupon Program are to expand marketing opportunities for local farmers, while at the same time improve access to fresh, local foods for low-income residents.
This study evaluated the success of Connecticut's program in meeting these goals. The hypotheses tested were: 1) the distribution of farmers' market coupons would lead to increased utilization of farmers' markets by WIC participants, and 2) program participants would show significant increases in their frequency of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Methods
Nine WIC programs participated in the study; six distributing farmers' market coupons (treatment group) and three that did not (control group). Four of the six treatment programs had distributed the coupons in previous years. These programs were specifically selected to determine if the previous coupon distribution would influence later use. A total of 489 participants were interviewed in July and August for a pre-assessment (411 in the treatment group and 78 in the control group). The treatment group was deliberately oversampled in order to compare subjects who received and used coupons with those who received and did not use coupons.
The initial interviews included questions about participants' use of farmers' markets and consumption of fruits, vegetables and juices. About two to four months later (November/December), the same subjects were contacted by phone for a post-assessment. Questions included the participants' use of farmers' markets during the test period, their use of the farmers' market coupons (if received), factors associated with their use and a re-evaluation of fruit, vegetable and juice consumption.
Results
Post-assessments were completed with 216 of the original 489 subjects: 172 treatment subjects and 44 control subjects. This return rate (44%) is characteristic of low-income, mobile populations. Those who responded were not representative of the group that was initially interviewed. They were more likely to be white, more educated, have cars and come from larger households, but they were less likely to be heads of households.
Coupon use and use of other resources. In the treatment group, 79.1 percent said they used some of their coupons and 57 percent said they used all of their coupons. Factors that were significantly associated with coupon use included: having shopped at a farmers' market before, having received farmers' market coupons previously, having a shorter distance to travel to get to a farmers' market, and ethnicity (Black and Hispanic subjects were more likely to use their coupons). Thirty-six percent of participants said they also spent either some of their own money (33.8%) or Food Stamps (2.2%) or both (9.6%) at farmers' markets in addition to the coupons.
Repeated use of farmers' markets. Almost one-third of coupon users went back to farmers' markets after using the farmers' market coupons. Those factors associated with returning to farmers' markets included: mode of transportation (subjects who walked, drove or rode with a friend were twice as likely to return as those who depended on buses or other ways of getting to markets), and a positive perception of produce quality at the markets. Lack of information about the market was mentioned as a reason by more than half of the control group that did not go to the farmers' market in the summer. This suggests that the Farmers' Market Coupon Program can help promote the use of farmers' markets by making participants more aware of them.
Food purchasing patterns. Specific foods purchased at farmers' markets by more than one quarter of participants included corn (38.2%), tomatoes (31.3%) and apples (28.5%). Foods chosen by ten to 15 percent of study participants included peaches, peppers, cucumbers, squash and pears. Over 60 percent said that the quality of the produce was better at farmers' markets than where they usually shopped and that prices were lower. Almost one quarter of participants said they tried a new food they had never bought before. Nearly half (44.2%) of coupon users said the Farmers' Market Coupon Program caused them to make changes in their diets, particularly in eating more fresh foods and more fruits and vegetables.
Although participants praised food quality, they also had suggestions for improving the Farmers' Market Coupon Program, including: changing the hours of operation, improving the location of the farmers' market (62.5% of subjects who received but did not use any of their coupons identified the location as a barrier), making transportation available, making childcare available and offering more information.
Frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. Interview questions in this area referred to overall consumption of fruits and vegetables, not just that from farmers' markets. Changes in the overall frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption between pre- and post-assessments did not differ significantly between control and treatment groups or
between coupon users and non-users. This result is not surprising, since the average addition of $6 worth of produce per year cannot be expected to produce major dietary changes. However, coupon users who also used their own resources at farmers' markets did show significant increases in their overall consumption of certain fresh vegetables (i.e., dark orange vegetables, peppers, tomatoes) over those who did not use additional resources. In addition, subjects who returned to the farmers' market after using up their coupons showed significantly greater consumption of fresh dark green vegetables, cauliflower, cabbage and other canned or frozen vegetables in their diets.
The authors conclude that the Connecticut Farmers' Market Coupon Program was generally successful in meeting its goals-three-quarters of the program recipients used their coupons at farmers' markets to purchase fresh, local produce; some groups also benefited by significantly increasing their overall produce consumption; and local farmers simultaneously expanded their markets.
Reviewer's Comments
California has conducted a very successful Farmers' Market Coupon Program since 1990 (federal funds were received for the first time in 1994). Since the state was not able to provide funding for the program, monies were raised from farmers' markets associations in order to get federal matching funds. In 1994, $32,000 was raised from farmers' market "sponsors" and the federal government provided another $52,000 for a total of $84,000. These monies provided for the administration of the program as well as $20 coupon booklets for 4,368 WIC participants. Almost 85 percent of these coupons were redeemed at 34 participating farmers' markets, providing fresh, local produce to thousands of pregnant and nursing women and their children. Moreover, California farmers more than doubled their initial investment from $32,000 to more than $64,000 (including in-kind contributions). Every market that participated realized at least a 50 percent gain. The Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (as it is now called) is an opportunity to benefit both California farmers and low-income consumers. Increased funding for this program would leverage additional resources and simultaneously improve the nutritional status of California's WIC participants and the economic viability of its family farmers.
For more information write to: Mark Winne, director, Hartford Food System, 509 Wethersfield Ave., Hartford, CT 06114. Tel. (203)296-9325.
Contributed by Gail W. Feenstra
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