Community supported agriculture membership in Arizona. An exploratory study of food and sustainability behaviours.
Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs have become a viable source of locally produced foods and represent a new way to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among individuals. Because CSAs represent a way for consumers to acquire healthy foods while providing financial support to local farmers, CSA involvement could reflect, and be related to, greater concern with both health and environmental impact of food choice. As such, the aim of this study was to examine whether ecological attitudes of CSA members could predict food- and sustainability-related behaviours. Using an online survey, respondents answered questions about attitudes towards the environment, as well behaviours related to food purchases, family food preparation, composting, recycling and minimising food-packaging waste. A total of 115 CSA member responses were collected. Ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the predictive validity of environmental attitudes on measures of behaviours. A large portion of participants reported the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables their households ate increased as a result of joining a CSA program. Ecological sensitivity was a significant predictor of sustainability-related behaviours as well as money spent eating out and times eaten away from home per week. However, it was not predictive of family involvement in home food preparation.
School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, Arizona State University, 500 North 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Alexandra L
AL
MacMillan Uribe
Donna M
DM
Winham
Christopher M
CM
Wharton
D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D001130:Arizona; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D058870:Food, Organic; D005638:Fruit; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D044465:White People