Study: Farmers’ markets may improve eating habits

KINGSTON – Farmers’ markets may help to encourage health eating habits, according to a study released yesterday by the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program at the University of Rhode Island.
The study was based on surveys conducted last fall by Heidi Hetzler, a community nutrition educator in the university’s Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, together with nutrition students Jennifer Black and Sarah Flinn.
“We speculate that people who attend these markets eat more fruits and vegetables than those who don’t attend, but there [was] no hard evidence to prove it,” Hetzler said, explaining the reason for the study.
The trio quizzed customers at 12 farmers’ markets. Among those who completed the survey, the top reasons given for attending the markets were fun, quality and selection.
But 36 percent of respondents also said that shopping at the markets had helped increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables and 78 percent said they had recently consumed all 12 of the nutrient-dense vegetables listed in the survey.
In addition, 12 percent of respondents had paid for their purchases either with food stamps or with the farmers’ market checks available to low-income residents through local senior centers and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. That may indicate progress in attracting lower-income residents to the markets, many of whose clients traditionally are “decidedly upscale,” the researchers said.
Based on her own observations, Hetzler added, “the kids seemed to be having a phenomenal time. If these markets get them to enjoy the experience of eating fruits and vegetables, then farmer¹s markets can be considered a great success.”
The survey was part of a larger project at farmers’ markets, designed to encourage healthy eating patterns, in which Hetzler, Blake and Finn also conducted cooking demonstrations, gave out low-cost recipes featuring fresh vegetables, provided nutrition information and offered samples of produce.
“Most cooking demonstrations are done by chefs from upscale restaurants, and the recipes they use are too complicated and expensive for most people,” Hetzler said. “Our demos were simple and practical, and the feedback we got suggested that the lower-income families were going to try them.”
Additional information is available at www.uri.edu/news.

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