A Systematic Review of Mobile Produce Markets: Facilitators and Barriers to Use, and Associations with Reported Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

BACKGROUND: Diet-related chronic diseases are a major public health burden. There is growing awareness that disparities in healthful food access contribute to disparities in health. Mobile produce markets (MPMs) have emerged as a strategy to improve fruit and vegetable access and consumption, particularly among low-income, minority, and other vulnerable populations (eg, older adults and children) in food desert neighborhoods.
OBJECTIVE: This review examined research on MPMs in the United States and specifically aimed to assess the relationship between MPM use and fruit and/or vegetable intake, and facilitators and barriers related to MPM use within a social ecological framework.
METHODS: A systematic review of the literature consistent with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was conducted. Articles published through December 2017 were identified using the following databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Agricola, and CAB Abstracts. MPM studies published in English and in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion if they were based on primary research of MPMs in the United States, included results, and if MPMs were analyzed separately from other market venues and sold predominantly fruits and/or vegetables. A total of 24 studies were identified for inclusion, which varied in study types as follows: quantitative (n=15), qualitative (n=3), and mixed methods (n=6).
RESULTS: An association was found between MPM use and higher reported fruit and/or vegetable intake, although existing studies that measured fruit and vegetable intake were not rigorous in study design (eg, lack of control group, use of convenience sample, small sample size). MPM location was the most commonly cited facilitator of MPM use. Other institutional factors (eg, nutrition education), as well as policy factors (eg, food-assistance programs), community factors (eg, market site liaisons), interpersonal factors (eg, socializing at market), and intrapersonal factors (eg, awareness of the benefits of fruit and/or vegetable intake) were identified.
CONCLUSIONS: MPMs offer a promising strategy to improve access to fruits and vegetables and may further support healthful-food purchasing and consumption through food-assistance incentives and enticements for consumers (eg, opportunities for social networking and nutrition education). Future research on MPMs would benefit from more rigorous experimental designs, such as including a control group, and examining multiple levels within a social ecological framework.