Study design and recruitment
We used a modified randomized design, conducted from May 2012 through September 2012, to test the feasibility of our intervention. All procedures were reviewed and approved by the Wake Forest School of Medicine institutional review board (IRB). The program, Farm Fresh Healthy Living, was developed, administered, and evaluated by a partnership of university researchers, a community nonprofit agency, and a noncertified organic farm.
Participants were clients of a nonprofit [501(c)3] community action agency in Forsyth County, North Carolina, who lived throughout the 413 square miles of the county. Over two-fifths (41.4%) of the county population is nonwhite or Hispanic (19). The county forms part of the Winston-Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and has a population density of 859.2 persons per square mile. The agency conducts programs focused on family financial self-sufficiency and housing to help families with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines to achieve self-sufficiency. Eligibility criteria were being 1) female, 2) at least 18 years old, 3) head of the household with at least 1 minor child, and 4) able to speak and understand English.