What role can farmers markets play in the larger context of food access? A simulation model with application to the state of Maine

Abstract

For areas of low food access, farmers markets and associated incentive programs have often been proposed as a means to increase the accessibility of fresh, nutritious food. Despite these efforts, access to healthful foods remains complicated. We discuss a multi-dimensional indicator of access – reflecting the availability, affordability, acceptability of nutritious food – that acknowledges the constraints under which households operate. We then use a simulation model to evaluate how access to local foods changes as farmers markets and conventional food retailers are added and removed from areas of low access. To give context to these results, we use various public data sources to consider food access in the state of Maine. Our simulated model shows that across Maine counties, SNAP households’ access to grocery stores plays a much larger role in overall food access than farmers markets and that, for additional farmers markets to improve food access, explicit consideration of the barriers facing households is necessary.