Fruit and Vegetable Preparation Changes During and After Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture Plus Nutrition Education

Objective: Inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) can negatively impact health. Cost-offset, or subsidized, community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) may change FV preparation behaviors among caregivers in low-income households. We assessed changes in FV preparation frequency and methods dur-ing and after participation in a CO-CSA plus tailored nutrition education intervention. Design: Longitudinal comparison of outcomes at baseline, end of CO-CSA season, and 1 year later. Participants: Caregivers of children aged 2-12 years from households with low income in rural areas of 4 US states (n = 148). Intervention: Summer season, half-price CO-CSA share plus tailored nutrition education classes. Com-parison to a control group not included in this analysis. Variables Measured: Monthly frequency of preparing 9 FV for children's snacks and 5 vegetables for din-ner; use of healthy preparation methods for dinner. Analysis: Repeated measures ANCOVA including state with Bonferroni correction and 95% confidence. Results: At baseline, caregivers prepared fruit for children's snacks and vegetables for dinner almost daily and vegetables for children's snacks every other day. The frequency of total FV preparation and most vegeta-ble varieties increased during the intervention. Increases in total vegetables for snacks, dinner, and leafy greens were maintained 1 year later (n = 107). Conclusions and Implications: Community-supported agriculture plus education is a promising approach to sustained increases in vegetable preparation for children's snacks and dinner meals.