Farm at the Pantry: A Produce Intervention Program Implemented to Improve the Produce Access, Intake, and Health of Low‐Income, Appalachian Families Participating in Food Pantries

Abstract

After Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, 50 households (HH) using a local rural food bank were recruited to examine the impact of a produce intervention program on the HH food access, health, and produce intake of low‐income families living in Appalachian Ohio. Utilizing a one group pre‐and post‐test design, participants were interviewed before and after the intervention program to access the impact the program had on the household's food access, health, and produce intake. The survey included previously validated items from the SF‐12 health questionnaire, the six‐item short form of the U.S. household food security survey module, and the psychosocial indicators of fruit and vegetable intake in low income communities questionnaire and food behavior checklist for a limited resource audience. A produce intervention program was then implemented for three consecutive winter months, in which $75 of fresh produce was distributed to participants at the food pantry for household use. Participants were dropped from the study if they experienced a food allergy or if they voluntarily quit. All data were tabulated and analyzed using the Statistical Program of the Social Sciences (SPSS). This poster summarizes those results.