Publication/Revision Year of most recent version: 2005

Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) Farmers’ Market Salad Bar Program

The Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) Farmers’ Market Salad Bar Program is a direct education and PSE change intervention designed to promote healthy eating in children by increasing the availability of fruits and vegetables in school lunches and providing nutrition education to increase knowledge of and improve attitudes toward eating a variety of locally grown produce. The RUSD approach is revenue neutral for the district’s nutrition services and income-generating for local, small farmers. Its primary component is the Farmers’ Market Salad Bar, a daily salad bar stocked with produce provided by local farmers. The percentage of salad bar offerings that are locally grown ranges from 50-100%, depending on the time of year. The program offers cooking carts, chef and farmer visits to the classroom, Harvest of the Month teacher training and activities, school gardens, and field trips to farms and farmers markets.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Health Bucks

The Health Bucks program is a PSE change intervention that distributes $2 coupons redeemable for fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables at New York City (NYC) farmers markets. Health Bucks increase purchasing power and help New Yorkers with low incomes access fresh fruits and vegetables. Health Bucks are distributed several ways, including to customers at farmers markets paying with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Health Bucks SNAP incentive increases markets’ SNAP sales and makes markets more profitable(1). This makes it financially possible for local farmers to participate in markets in areas that historically have been less profitable and affects the physical environment by increasing access to and availability of fresh produce. Health Bucks affects a neighborhood’s social environment by incentivizing to shop at local farmers markets.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: PSE Change