Preliminary effectiveness of a food pantry-led community-supported agriculture program in the USA: a...

To assess the preliminary effectiveness of a food pantry-led, subsidised community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.

A quasi-experimental observational pilot study with 3-month follow-up. 'Farm Share' the subsidised CSA provided biweekly bags of approximately 25 pounds of fresh produce priced at $5 per bag. Control participants were recruited from a comparable food pantry without CSA. Outcomes included skin carotenoids, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, diet quality and food security. Changes between groups were analysed using generalised estimating equations and mixed-effect regression models.

New York City, NY, United States.

Participants (Farm Share n 54, control n 69) were predominantly Hispanic/Latino, Black or African American, foreign-born, female and had a high school education or lower.

Retention rate was 65·0 % at follow-up (Farm Share n 33, control n 47). Compared with control, skin carotenoids increased (+12 points) in the Farm Share group, adjusted for smoking status, age, sex and birthplace (P = 0·005). Total healthy eating index (HEI) (-6·3 points) and saturated fats HEI (-1·1 point) declined in the Farm Share group (P = 0·031 and P = 0·027, respectively). Non-significant trends were observed for improvements in FV intake (P = 0·25) and food security (P = 0·16).

Findings from this pilot study suggested Farm Share's preliminary effectiveness and study feasibility in urban food pantry settings, supporting integrating subsidised CSA within food pantries to enhance fresh produce access among communities experiencing food insecurity. However, fully powered trials are needed to confirm these findings.