Abstract
Using self-reported health and economic behaviors, this study explores the extent to which experiential food activities such as cooking new foods and attending farmers markets impact local food consumption, purchasing, and eating behaviors. This longitudinal survey includes pre/post intervention surveys administered to a convenience sample of 55 community members, categorized as “young adults,” “adults,” and “older adults.” The 41-item baseline survey includes closed-ended questions regarding food preference, purchasing habits, and general awareness. The 54-item post survey, administered after participating in the study, includes the same closed-ended questions as the pre-survey, as well as open-ended questions regarding participants’ perceived impact of the intervention on their behaviors. Data was analyzed with paired t tests, one-way ANOVA, paired proportional analysis using McNemar’s Test, Bonferroni correction tests, and normality tests. Survey results show significant positive change (p<0.001) in overall eating, preparation, and purchasing behaviors from baseline to post-study. These findings appear to demonstrate that simple, low-cost interventions to engage adults in learning about and experiencing local food can lead to a change in shopping and pro-local eating behaviors.
Highlights
Introduction and Literature ReviewThe number of U.S farmers markets has increased 395% from 1994 to 2017 (U.S Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service [USDA ERS], 2017), providing considerable additional access to fresh, healthy, whole foods
We utilized a pre-/post-survey design to assess the impact of a local food promotion intervention at the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA), a public liberal arts university
This study focused on the impact of education, in terms of where to purchase local food and how to prepare it; this education effectively reduces some of the upfront time and effort, or transaction costs, which people face when attempting to make a behavior change toward eating more healthy and local food
Summary
Consumers attend farmers markets for a variety of reasons: to buy fresh local food, support the local economy, satisfy concerns about the food supply through direct interaction with vendors, and enjoy the social atmosphere of the markets (Kirby et al, 2007). Consumers cite concerns about price, location, market days and hours, and demographic homogeneity (Wetherill & Gray, 2015), as reasons for not using farmers markets or seeking out local foods (Jilcott Pitts et al, 2014; McGuirt et al, 2014). There are a variety of motivations to engage in local food and farmers markets. Local foods have been promoted effectively through socially based motivations such as price, freshness, market friendliness, and taste 2011; Wolf et al, 2005). Despite increased accessibility to local foods, consumers will choose pre-prepared meals if they are incapable of preparing meals or using food in new ways (Rainbolt et al, 2012)
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