title: Bringing Produce to the People: Implementing a Social Marketing Food Access Intervention in Rural Food Deserts.
abstract: This study describes and evaluates the process of implementing a social marketing food access intervention for food desert communities in rural California. A case study approach used mixed-methods data from nationwide market comparisons, environmental assessment, and community informants. Lessons learned demonstrate room for improvement in implementing such strategies and underscore the importance of involving community in decision making; the strategic importance of operational decisions relating to intervention design, site and product selection, and distribution models; and the need to reconsider the problem of access in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, University of California, Merced, CA. Electronic address: sramirez37@ucmerced.edu.
authors.forename: A Susana
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, University of California, Merced, CA; Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Merced, CA.
authors.forename: Lillian K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Diaz Rios
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of California, Merced, CA.
authors.forename: Zulema
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Valdez
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, University of California, Merced, CA.
authors.forename: Erendira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, University of California, Merced, CA.
authors.forename: Ariana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D040241:Social Marketing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: community development; food access; rural health; social marketing