Poor families and the Farmers' Market Effect

[flashl]

The Farmers’ Market Effect

Vouchers that permit low-income women to shop at a local farmers’ market increase fruit and vegetable consumption in poor families, a new study shows.

The research, published this month in the American Journal of Public Health, comes just as states are making important changes to national nutrition programs. For years, the federally-funded Women, Infants and Children (W.I.C.) program, which subsidizes food purchases for low-income women and young children, hasn’t included fruits and vegetables, except for fruit juice and carrots for breastfeeding women. After a push by health groups and a recent report from the Institute of Medicine, the United States Department of Agriculture in December revised W.I.C. to include monthly subsidies for fruits and vegetables. States will begin implementing the new rules in February.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles tracked the eating habits of 602 area women taking part in the federal W.I.C. program. Some of the women were given $10 in weekly vouchers for vegetable and fruit purchases at a nearby farmers’ market or supermarket, while a control group received coupons for non-food products in exchange for sharing information about eating habits.

After six months, women who shopped at the farmers’ markets were eating about three additional servings of fruits and vegetables a day, compared to the control group. Supermarket shoppers consumed 1.5 extra servings.

NY Times

This good news benefits families on WIC and local farmers.

[Dhalgren]

1. Sounds like a real "win-win". There must be more programs like

this to both benefit the small farmer and to aid the poor (and any one of us could easily be in that latter group very soon).

Big K&R!

[fasttense]

2. Well, if you have ever been to a Farmer's Market

you would know it makes everyone want to eat more fruits and vegetables because of all the lush vegetation on display and the enticing aroma of the fully ripen fruits and veggies.

There is a big difference in going to a farmer's market and shopping at a grocery store produce department. In grocery stores, frequently the produce is kept at low temperatures to keep it from ripening further and this retards the aroma of the foods. Not to mention that much of supermarket produce is picked green to allow it to ship from other countries and regions with less damage. But when you eat vine ripen or tree ripen fruits and vegetables and compare it to early picked, storage ripen produce, there is a large difference in flavor, texture and aroma.

Nothing smells so good as a tree ripen peach. Early picked peaches are grown for their thick, hard skins to protect them during transportation and they frequently lose their enticing aroma. When you bite into the thin fuzzy skin of the naturally ripen taught peach as the sweet juice runs down your chin, you are getting the first taste of summer.

[Robbien]

3. And buying from the people who actually grow the food

is also a plus. They take so much pride in offering their wares, it feels good walking out of the place with bags full of their greens.

[dropkickpa]

4. PA has been doing that for a couple years

I know when I was knocked up and when Dropkid was a baby I got them. They were awesome, there was a huge farmers market right near where I lived. I got to know a lot of the farmers and they were great people (and, after getting to know them, a lot of them would cut me great deals so my WIC money could go that much further).

I was surprised to learn that not all ststes did this, hopefully this will get them to add this benefit to all states.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Massachusetts had them too and I witnessed the same thing there.

The farmer would throw in an extra apple or cut the price to fit the money left in the vouchers for the regulars. The human connection was great, especially when the voucher users had their kids in tow. Some kids were really impressed to meet a real farmer!

[cutlassmama]

6. It's a great start, however not all poor people have children

under five, which is required to be on WIC. Many have older children or just themselves. Food stamps should have a say in what is allowed...no unhealthy good and a few essentials like toilet paper, shampoo, soap, and laundry detergent. It doesn't allow for any of that now. The pittance given on food stamps really doesn't allow people to get "healthy" foods because they are much more expensive than junk food.