OBJECTIVE: To assess the preliminary effectiveness of a food pantry-led, subsidized community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. DESIGN: This was a quasi-experimental observational pilot study with three-month follow-up. "Farm Share" the subsidized CSA provided biweekly bags of approximately 25 pounds of fresh produce priced at 5 per bag. Control participants were recruited from a comparable food pantry without CSA. Outcomes included skin carotenoids, fruit and vegetable intake, diet quality, and food security. Changes between groups were analyzed using generalized estimating equations and mixed-effect regression models. SETTING: New York City, NY, United States. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (Farm Share n = 54, control n = 69) were predominantly Hispanic/Latino, Black or African American, foreign-born, female, and had a high school education or lower. RESULTS: Retention rate was 65. 0 % at follow-up (Farm Share n = 33, control n = 47). Compared to control, skin carotenoids increased (+12 points) in the Farm Share group, adjusted for smoking status, age, sex, and birthplace (p = 0. 005). Total Healthy Eating Index (HEI) (-6. 3 points) and saturated fats HEI (-1. 1 point) declined in the Farm Share group (p = 0. 031 and p = 0. 027, respectively). Non-significant trends were observed for improvements in fruit and vegetable intake (p = 0. 16) and food security (p = 0. 25). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggested Farm Share's potential effectiveness and evaluation feasibility in urban food pantry settings, supporting integrating subsidized CSA within food pantries to enhance fresh produce access among communities experiencing food insecurity. However, fully powered trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.