FARMERS’ MARKET SHOPPING BEHAVIORS AND THE ASSOCIATION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKE

Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake continues to decline among sub-population in the United States. Current policies and interventions have aimed to improve intake by improving access to fruits and vegetables. One Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested strategy is to improve access to farmers’ markets in rural areas. The aims of this study were to determine if the frequency of shopping at Farmers’ Markets is associated with fruit and vegetable intake, adjusted for age, income and education and to compare rural and non-rural areas frequency of Farmers’ Market attendance based on Kentucky farmers’ market interview participants (n = 102). The results of the descriptive, cross-sectional study determined that the Kentucky farmers’ market customers Fruit and Vegetable Score was positively associated with frequency of purchase of locally grown fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. However, the frequency of farmers’ market attendance was most commonly limited to ‘once a week’ (as a result of participants attending ‘Only attends market when need something’). It was concluded that alleviating the barriers customers face to use farmers’ markets is the best way to increase the attendance of farmers’ markets and as a result increase the purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables