Farm to family: Connecting food, community, and family systems to promote fruit and vegetable consumption

Introduction. Head Start is the nation's largest federally-funded early childhood education program, serving low-income children disproportionately vulnerable to obesity. Because Head Start's performance standards regarding parent involvement and nutrition offer opportunities to facilitate change in home and school food environments, it is a particularly important national venue for obesity prevention. Approach. Farm to Family (F2F) is a subsidized community supported agriculture (CSA) model designed to make the benefits of CSAs accessible for low-income families. Operating in Boston, MA since 2011, F2F directly addresses logistical barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption including cost, availability and accessibility. CSA shares containing local produce are delivered weekly over 4 months to Head Starts and other community programs that are part of the daily routines of participating families. Families contribute just $5/week for $15 worth of produce, and can pay for their portion of the cost using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, cash or check. The remainder of the cost is subsidized through local grants and donations. Results. F2F served an average of 115 and 128 participants per month in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Program evaluation data demonstrated that F2F is feasible, viable and acceptable to parents, Head Start staff, and a local food producer. There is initial evidence that the model increases vegetable consumption among participants. Discussion. F2F directly addresses access and cost barriers to consumption for low-income families by connecting home, preschool and food systems to make fruits and vegetables easily accessible and affordable to families with limited access to fresh produce.