Produce Prescription Project: Ventura County WIC

Introduction: Limited access to sustainable and affordable sources of fresh fruits and vegetables hinders families? ability to grow and thrive in Ventura County (VC). VC's has a thriving agricultural economy, yet 1 in 6 families report being food insecure. While the percentage of families living below the federal poverty limit is 5.5% - about half of the value nationally - 69% of these families are families with children. Purpose: The purpose of the proposed project is to pilot test a produce prescription program to: 1) expand WIC families' food purchasing power, while supporting local agriculture and CA-grown fruits and vegetables; 2) support healthy eating patterns critical to positive health outcomes, growth, and development; and to 3) benchmark critical health indicators in relationship to increased fruit and vegetables intake for Ventura County WIC participants. Hypothesis: Increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables through nutrition incentives will result in increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and positive changes to health outcomes for Ventura County WIC participants. Methods: We will distribute nutrition incentives through collaboration with two Certified Farmers Markets in VC: 1) The Downtown Oxnard Farmers Market (FM); and 2) The Ventura FM. Incentives will be distributed on site the day of the FM to verified Ventura County WIC participants. Participants will be consented at the FM and fill out a survey to document their demographics, knowledge of cooking and shopping practices, as well as food preparation, medical history, and nutrition and food security status. These tools are part of a Qualtrics data collection system that has been set up for our cooking education program ? Family Kitchen. Study participants will also be informed of the Family Kitchen resources, which have been integrated into the WIC nutrition education system for credit. A post survey will be administered at 6 months following the baseline survey to participants either in-person at the Farmers Market or a reminder will be sent via text to determine potential outcomes from distribution of the nutrition incentives.