title: Effectiveness of Fresh to You, a Discount Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market in Low-Income Neighborhoods, on Children's Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Rhode Island, 2010-2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Eating fruits and vegetables is associated with lowered risk for many chronic diseases. However, most Americans, especially members of low-income and minority populations, do not eat adequate amounts. Fresh to You is a public-private partnership program that brings discount fresh produce markets into low-income neighborhoods. We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of Fresh to You to assess the effect of the program on children's consumption of fruits and vegetables.
  
  
  METHODS
  A local produce distributor brought the Fresh to You markets to 6 community organizations serving low-income families in Rhode Island. The markets, held weekly for 5 months at each site, sold fresh produce at below-retail prices. Parents (N = 480) of children aged 3 to 13 years were recruited at the markets to participate in a 5-month cohort study. The primary outcome was change in children's fruit and vegetable intake, measured by a validated screener. We also conducted postintervention focus groups at each site with parents and qualitative interviews with site contacts to collect feedback about Fresh to You.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From baseline to 5 months, there was a significant increase in children's daily fruit and vegetable consumption of 0.48 cups (t = 4.16, P < .001). Data from follow-up parent surveys, focus groups, and site contact interviews provided positive feedback about Fresh to You and recommendations for improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fresh to You was effective at increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables among racially and ethnically diverse low-income children aged 3 to 13 years whose parents shopped at the markets. The intervention could serve as a model program for replication in other cities. Refinements and a more rigorous evaluation are needed.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gorham
authors.affiliation: Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Akilah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dulin-Keita
authors.affiliation: Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Patricia Markham
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Risica
authors.affiliation: Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.affiliation: Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papandonatos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nunn
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University School of Public Health and Rhode Island Public Health Institute, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gorham
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Mya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roberson
authors.affiliation: Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University School of Public Health, 121 South Main St, 8th Floor, Box G-S121-8, Providence, RI 02912. Email: Kim_Gans@Brown.edu. Dr Gans is also affiliated with the Rhode Island Public Health Institute, Providence, Rhode Island, and the University of Connecticut, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and the Center for Health Interventions and Prevention, Storrs, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gans
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003132:Commerce / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D002149:Energy Intake; D004779:Environment Design; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011203:Poverty; D015397:Program Evaluation; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012237:Rhode Island; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D014675:Vegetables / Q000191:economics*