Do Farmers’ Markets Improve Diet of Participants Using Federal Nutrition Assistance Programs? A Literature Review

Abstract

Farmers' markets have emerged as one health strategy to improve the access and availability of fresh foods for limited-resource audiences using federal nutrition assistance programs, although their effectiveness on dietary intake is not well understood. The review reported here evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of existing research about the dietary outcomes of accessing farmers' markets, focusing on federal nutrition assistance programs tied to farmers' market initiatives. The comprehensive literature review includes a total of six total articles published between January 2005 and January 2012. The review highlights the need for more comprehensive and systematic research.