The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Fresh Start Randomized Controlled Trial: Baseline Participant Characteristics and Reliability of Measures

Background The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Fresh Start (WFS) is a randomized controlled trial of nutrition education to promote farmers' market fruit and vegetable (F/V) purchases and consumption among women enrolled in WIC. Objectives To describe the baseline characteristics (demographics and F/V intake [ including F/V juice]) of WFS participants, compare the characteristics with those of WIC participants in New Jersey and nationwide, and examine the baseline reliability of study measures. Design Cross-sectional. Participants/setting Seven hundred forty-four women served by a New Jerseyebased WIC agency located in a densely populated, urban area. Main outcome measures Demographic characteristics; newly developed measures of farmers' marketerelated knowledge, attitudes, and skills; and validated measures of F/V intake. Statistical analyses Descriptive statistics to characterize the sample. One-sample t and one-sample sign tests to compare the characteristics with reference values. For dietary behaviors, comparisons were with state and national estimates of the frequency and quantity of F/V intake. Results Participants had a mean age of 28.9 +/- 6.8 years and were predominantly Hispanic (59%), US-born (60%), never married (41%), unemployed (62%), receiving assistance other than WIC (70%), and food insecure (55%). Half reported a high school education or less. Higher proportions of WFS participants than WIC participants nationwide were represented among demographic groups at increased risk of inadequate F/V intake. WFS participants consumed more fruit (2.7 cups/day) but less vegetables (1.4 cups/day) than did women nationwide (1.1 and 1.4 cups/day, respectively; P< 0.01). Although participants consumed recommended amounts of fruit, their vegetable intake was below recommended levels. All but two of the measures developed for the study had reliability coefficients at or above 0.60. Conclusions Intervention is warranted to improve participants' vegetable intake. Registered dietitian nutritionists should be aware of F/V intake differences that may require differential intervention strategies.