Farmers' Market Utilization among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients in New Orleans, Louisiana: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Objective: </strong>Farmers’ markets are increas­ingly being promoted as a means to provide fresh produce to poor and underserved communities. However, farmers’ market (FM) use remains low among low-income patrons. The purpose of our study was to examine FM awareness and use, grocery shopping behaviors, and internet use among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Design: </strong>A descriptive analysis of preliminary data was performed to evaluate quantita­tive baseline data among SNAP recipients between June and August 2016 in New Or­leans, Louisiana (N=51). Data were collected via a 42-item online survey that included demographics, internet use, FM awareness and use, health information seeking behaviors and fruit and vegetable purchasing behaviors.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>Less than half of the survey respondents (n=24) had ever been to a FM. Local grocery stores and Wal-Mart were most used for purchasing fruits and vegetables (88% and 84%, respectively). The most common sources of healthy eat­ing information were Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the internet, frequently accessed via smartphones. More than 80% of participants were not aware that local FMs accepted electronic benefit transfer payments as a form of payment.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results support the incorporation of promotional methodol­ogy that combines internet-based mobile technology and existing services (eg, WIC) as a viable strategy to improve farmers’ market use among low-income populations. As most participants were not aware that participating FMs accept electronic ben­efit transfer payments, this fact should be emphasized in promotional material.</p><p class="Pa7">Ethn Dis. 2017;27(Suppl 1):295-302; doi:10.18865/ed.27.S1.295.</p>

Racial, Gender, and Age Dynamics in Michigan’s Urban and Rural Farmers Markets: Reducing Food Insecurity, and the Impacts of a Pandemic

“…Nevertheless, more than a third of the customers at people-of-color-operated farmers markets are people of color. This finding is noteworthy as earlier studies have found that low numbers of people of color visit and shop at farmers markets (Nuss et al, 2017; Singleton et al, 2020; Skizim et al, 2017).…”

“…A study of 51 SNAP recipients in New Orleans found that only 47% of the study participants had ever been to a farmers market. The study found that 88% of the respondents shopped for fruits and vegetables at grocery stores and 84% obtained these items at Walmart ( Nuss et al, 2017 ). Skizim et al (2017) found that 63% of low-income New Orleans residents never visited a farmers market, while 27% of middle- and high-income residents never went to farmers market.…”

The California Nutrition Incentive Program: Participants’ Perceptions and Associations with Produce Purchases, Consumption, and Food Security

“…An important aspect for future studies to consider studying is the impact of this program on SNAP participants' well-being. As has been seen in other studies [54], participants in our study who were not shopping at farmers' markets offering the incentive program had little awareness of the benefit [55].…”

<strong>Tracking Double-up Food Bucks (DUFB) Program Use Among Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) Recipients and the Implications for Healthy Food Access</strong>

“…Recommendations for Policy, Practice, and Research Previous studies have established evidence that SNAP recipients face various barriers (lack of transportation, lack of awareness, inconvenient time, location of operation, etc.) in their ability to access farmer's market incentive programs (Freedman et al, 2016;Nuss, Skizim, Afaneh, Miele, & Sothern, 2017;Olsho et al, 2015;Savoie-Roskos et al, 2016;). These potential limitations indicate that not all SNAP recipients may be able to make frequent FM trips that could in turn improve their access to healthier food options.…”