Vol. 3 No. 1 Specials

On Chapel Street in downtown New Haven, healthy eating is practically a celebration. Here lies a new “Third Way” in the food world: a farmers’ market selling fresh local produce. Not that there aren’t problems: although the market is affordable, the season limits the selection of produce, and for many residents, poor public transportation makes it difficult to get there. Thankfully, the City of New Haven has a Food Policy Council that is busy addressing these problems. Although the Farmers’ market is privately run by the non-profit organization CitySeed, it falls squarely within the realm of the Food Policy Council’s stated mission of providing access to healthy food by allowing “individuals from public and private organizations to work together to promote community food security and a sustainable, community food system.” Together, farmers’ markets and food policy councils form a dynamic duo: by improving New Haven residents’ access to healthy foods, both institutions help to combat the local version of America’s obesity epidemic.

From a public health perspective, what factors make farmers’ markets and food policy councils so appealing? What is the underlying secret of this “Third Way”? The answer, it seems, lies in the synergistic combination of a grassroots approach with a institutional, systemic approach. Hopefully, this two-pronged offensive will make New Haven a model for addressing the two biggest problems afflicting urban diets: the limited consumption of fruits and vegetables, and food insecurity.

The consumption of fruit and vegetables has been clearly shown to help prevent cancer and other diseases. A recent article in Nutrition Review explains that “because fruits and vegetables are high in water and fiber, incorporating them into the diet can reduce energy density, promote satiety, and decrease energy intake.” While small-scale public health campaigns encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption have enjoyed some success, large-scale initiatives like the Federal Government’s Five-a-Day program have been largely ineffective: despite the millions of dollars spent on these programs, more than three-quarters of Americans consume too few fruits and vegetables.

But if national health campaigns leave something to be desired, farmers’ markets and food policy councils provide intriguing alternatives. Not only do farmers’ markets provide easy access to fresh fruit at competitive prices, they also allow customers to interact with farmers so that they can learn about the food they’re eating, thereby helping consumers to better appreciate the produce. Jennifer McTiernan, the founder of CitySeed, aptly described this concept in an interview: “What a farmer’s market can do is introduce people to a celebratory relationship with food.” Whereas national health campaigns always risk sounding sanctimonious, farmers’ markets promote a festive approach to health.