A qualitative study of shopper experiences at an urban farmers’ market using the Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool

摘要

Abstract Objective To understand factors which enhance or detract from farmersa€? market shopper experiences to inform targeted interventions to increase farmersa€? market utilization, community-building and social marketing strategies. Design A consumer-intercept study using the Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool to capture real-time perceptions via photographs and audio narratives. Setting An urban farmersa€? market in a large metropolitan US city. Participants Thirty-eight farmersa€? market shoppers, who recorded 748 unique coded elements through community-based participatory research methods. Results Shoppers were primarily women (65 %), 18a€“35 years of age (54 %), non-Hispanic (81 %) and white (73 %). Shoppers captured 291 photographs (7?·9 (sd 6?·3) per shopper), 171 audio narratives (5?·3 (sd 4?·7) per shopper), and ninety-one linked photograph + audio narrative pairs (3?·8 (sd 2?·8) per shopper). A systematic content analysis of the photographs and audio narratives was conducted by eight independent coders. In total, nine common elements emerged from the data that enhanced the farmersa€? market experience (61?·8 %), detracted from the experience (5?·7 %) or were neutral (32?·4 %). The most frequently noted elements were freshness/abundance of produce (23?·3 %), product presentation (12?·8 %), social interactions (12?·4 %) and farmersa€? market attractions (e.g. live entertainment, dining offerings; 10?·3 %). Conclusions While produce quality (i.e. freshness/abundance) was of primary importance, other contextual factors also appeared important to the shoppersa€? experiences. These results may inform social marketing strategies to increase farmersa€? market utilization and community-building efforts that target market venues.