Recipient Organization
FORSYTH FARMERS MARKET
11 W PARK AVE
SAVANNAH,GA 31401
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The 912 Food Farmacy Program is administered by the Forsyth Farmers' Market in Savannah, GA. We have strategic partnerships with four clinics in Savannah that assist with recruitment of participants and host the program at their facility each month. Participants receive $10 weekly and $5 weekly for each additional household member. These incentives can be used to purchase local fresh fruits and vegetables from the Forsyth Farmers' Market or on Farm Truck 912 - our mobile farmers' market that brings locally sourced produce to Chatham County's primarily African-American, low income, low food access neighborhoods. Along with the produce incentives, participants are offered 4 nutrition classes each month. These classes teach participants about seasonality of local produce, the nutritional benefits of the produce that is currently in season, and also how to prepare the produce in a number of different ways.This project is designed to meet the GusNIP PPR objectives; 1) the improvement of dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; 2) the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and 3) the reduction in healthcare utilization and costs. The project will perform a rigorous evaluation with participant, partner, and community input. It will participate in all GusNIP PPR evaluation activities. That is currently through the GusNIP NTAE Center. We will provide the GusNIP NTAE Center with both monthly and quarterly data. By the end of the grant period we will serve at least 600 families
Animal Health Component
30%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
30%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
From our original application, this project has two main objectives: 1) to reduce the prevalence and impact of obesity related chronic diseases by increasing healthy eating habits among at risk populations; and 2) to increase healthy mealtime habits among families by making healthy food options more accessible and increasing knowledge of healthy eating.
Project Methods
Along with their produce prescription, participants will be offerd in person education and cooking demonstrations each month when they come to the clinic. In addition, each participant will receive a cookbook which includes specific educational information about nutrition, recipes, and cooking ideas. Additional cooking classes and information will be shared with participants via notifications about other Forsyth Farmers Market cooking classes.The evaluation will include a tailored pre and post test assessment (that is designed in coordination with the overall cross-site evaluation to minimize the impact on participants) which will assess the participants purchasing and eating habits as well as the perceived impact on individual health and well-being. Participants will be asked to complete a registration form which will also include self-report questions about participant health and behavior patterns. These questions will be revisited during a final short close-out survey during an end of program focus group and final meeting. In addition, at the end of each cohort, focus groups will be used to gather more in depth information about the impact of the program and ways to improve the program. Questions on the pre and post assessment will include questions about participant current health status (self-report), shopping habits, and eating habits related to consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. The responses will be compared before and after to see what impact the program has had. The surveys will also include questions about how often participants shop at the farmers market and farm truck and how often they plan to continue shopping at the truck or market. In addition, the evaluation will track and review how many of the vouchers each participant uses and at what locations (the clinic stop, another truck stop, or at the saturday market). This data will be reviewed quarterly with the project team to determine the impact of the program. Indicators of success and project outcomes include:- Participants reporting increased purchasing and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables- Self reports of improved health and well-being- Continuing purchasing plans at the farm truck and market- Increased shopping at the truck and market with vouchers, cash, and EBT over time and plans to continue after the programMeasures and assessments include:- Registration data to understand general health level and needs at sign-up- Pre-test survey gathered at the first clinic stop or prior to the first clinic stop (link emailed or texted prior to stop, paper option for those who do not complete it prior to clinic visit)- Shopping and spending data from the truck on the EBT and voucher spending at the truck at each stop- Post-test survey at the last clinic stop of the cohort- Focus group conducted within 3 months of the last clinic stopAnalysis will include both basic descriptive analysis and qualitative thematic analysis to fully understand the impact of the program and develop recommendations for improvement during the course of the program.