POP (power of produce) Club was designed for participants to experience fresh fruits and/or vegetables each week, encourage trying new foods, use recipes that are healthy and budget friendly, and assist with closing the gap in access to fresh fruits and vegetables by providing funding to purchase items from local producers in the community. Over eight weeks this summer, POP Club participants had the opportunity to visit the Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market once a week, complete an activity, and try a food sample from a recipe based on seasonality to earn $5 in market bucks. The Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market was open every Tuesday (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.), Thursday (4:00-7:00 p.m.), and Saturday (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.). This gave people the opportunity to fit coming to POP Club into their schedule. Almost $4000 in grant funds were given out in the form of market bucks for participants to spend on local produce from the Owensboro Regional Farmers’ Market. Seventy-one families participated in the program with 105 youth and 63 adults. 

Of the participants who completed the post-program survey, 98% reported that they or their child tried something new. 63% reported making the recipe of the week at home. 100% reported purchasing fresh fruits and/or vegetables from the Farmers’ Market. 98% reported an intake increase in fruit while 95% reported an increase in vegetables. 93% reported visiting the Farmers’ Market more than they normally would during the summer. One parent said, “My kids looked forward to it every week and enjoyed being able to use the market bucks to pick out what healthy foods our family would eat that week. The recipes were great and even for my picky eater to try new things.” Another stated, “It was such a fun family bonding time!”

While this parent said, “This program was seriously one of our favorite parts of the summer. It taught my son so much and he really enjoyed spending his market bucks to buy fresh food. He increased his interest in learning about what foods were healthy and what foods were sometimes foods….I hope this is around next year so we can enjoy the farmers market again even if not I have the great idea to give my son five dollars for every market that we go to so he can learn how to spend his money on healthy things.”

One vendor stated, “I thought it was a great addition and got children interested in learning about produce and how to budget their money.”

Another vendor said, “I saw so many families this summer, who not only spent their pop club money, but purchased additional items. Many kiddos were repeat customers, and I feel like they looked forward to coming every week. I feel like the program brought more people to the market as a while. What a great way to education customers, support vendors, and have a great time while doing it.”