Do Community Supported Agriculture programmes encourage change to food lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes? New evidence from shareholders

Urban Farm DB summary

A survey of 151 shareholders across three midsized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations near Lexington, Kentucky (International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2016), addressed a gap in prior research that had relied mostly on small samples (n < 25). Using 20 paired before/after questions, paired two-sided t-tests, and regression of paired differences on socioeconomic factors, self-reported health, and years of CSA enrollment, the study found that food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes changed after CSA participation, with respondents who reported "poor health" before enrollment showing the most change overall. The authors describe these results as an initial analysis of CSA's impact on shareholder food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes.