Evaluation of Community Food Markets in Glasgow, Scotland.

Community Food Markets as a Driver for Equitable, Sustainable Food Systems in Glasgow, Scotland.

Researchers will evaluate if community-led food markets can improve access to affordable and nutritious food in lower income households in Glasgow. Through this study the researchers will compare an intervention group (areas of Glasgow with market) pre-and post- market, as well as to a comparator group (areas of Glasgow with no market), to see if the food market intervention improves access to affordable and nutritious foods.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• If community-led food markets increase per-person food purchase of fruits, vegetables, fish and fibre-rich products
• If community-led food markets improve dietary intake of fruit and vegetables, fish and fibre-rich products

The study will also incorporate a process and economic evaluation of the market stalls.

Socioeconomic deprivation and individual and place deprivation are major drivers of poor diet and ill health in urban households across the UK. Food choices are shaped by the local food environment, culture, individual preferences, and economic and physical accessibility. Solutions to improve access and diet need multi-component approaches. Local food system transformation that facilitates access to sustainable diets that are affordable, nutritious, culturally acceptable, and derived through a people-centred approach is needed to address diet inequalities and promote health. This entails a systems approach with community and local stakeholders participating in the design and delivery of solutions to increase acceptance, participation, engagement and long-term sustainability.

Through a broad partnership in Glasgow supported by Glasgow University and local food organisations, two low-income areas of Glasgow have been selected to establish a weekly community-led food market stalls; Govan and Cranhill. The intention is that the implementation of these food market stalls will improve community members' access to nutritious food. The market stalls will be launched one at a time, developed in consultation with their local communities to ensure that they are appropriate to local needs and circumstances. The market stalls will operate on Saturdays and will run over 6 months each, focusing on providing affordable nutrient-rich foods and increasing exposure and familiarisation to raw ingredients. At one of the markets we will also incorporate food-related art performances and food information activities (e.g. cooking demonstrations) to support participant engagement and food literacy skills.

This study is an impact-, process- and economic- evaluation of the two community-led food market stalls, to explore if they are a viable intervention to improve access to affordable and nutritious food in these communities and enable households to meet dietary targets for fruit, vegetables, oily fish and fibre. We will measure the impact of these food markets to generate evidence to inform expansion of this concept to other localities in Glasgow and beyond. Using a quasi-experimental approach, we will compare an intervention group with a comparator group (areas of Glasgow with no market), pre-and post- market intervention. We will measure participant food purchases, eating behaviours, food literacy and markers of general health and wellbeing at time points (pre- and post- market intervention). We will do this using questionnaires, 24h diet recall and a 7-day food purchasing diary. In addition we will record market attendance and engagement.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Residents living in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 1 and 2 postcodes (localities Govan and Cranhill in Glasgow, Scotland)
• Live in a 20 minute walk to the market stall interventions (Govan or Cranhill in Glasgow, Scotland).
• Be age 18 or over
• English speakers