An Evaluation of Washington State SNAP-Ed Farmers' Market Initiatives and SNAP Participant Behaviors

Objective: To describe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed)-supported farmers' market (FM) access activities in Washington State communities and identify associations between participation in these activities and SNAP participants' FM shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption. Design: Descriptive study; data included stakeholder interviews and surveys with FM managers and a stratified clustered random sample of SNAP participants. Setting: Washington State. Participants: A total of 51 SNAP-Ed stakeholders, 400 SNAP participants, and 94 FM managers participated. Main Outcome Measure(s): Partnership measures and SNAP-Ed FM access activities; SNAP participants' participation in FM access activities, FM shopping frequency, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Analysis: Thematic content analysis, descriptive statistics, and 0-inflated Poisson and ordinary leasts-quares regression models. Results: A total of 343 FM access activities and strong multi-sector partnerships were identified. Fifty percent of SNAP participants shopped at an FM in the past year, and 30% at least monthly. The SNAP participants participating in FM access activities shopped at FMs more frequently (P = .005). The SNAP participants shopping at FMs ate fruit and vegetables more frequently than did non-FM shoppers (P < .001). Conclusions and Implications: Through nutrition education and systems and environmental changes, Washington SNAP-Ed developed effective programming and multi-sector partnerships. These efforts are associated with SNAP participants' FM shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption.