89 - A Multi-Year, Multi-Site Evaluation of a Youth Market Summer Internship in Greater New York City

Publication Number: 2085.89

Margo Fingeret, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, United States; Kyle Murray, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Ridgewood, NY, United States; Julen N. Harris, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Carey Jernigan, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, NY, United States; Melissa Stockwell, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, United States; John C. Rausch, Columbia University, Yonkers, NY, United States

Background: Urban agriculture education promotes food justice while fostering civic engagement and teaching nutrition. In 2019, one such program was started in Manhattan as a paid six-week summer internship for 16- to 22-year-olds, combining farm stand management with public engagement and education around nutrition, health, and community resources. Interns distribute seasonal produce, conduct cooking workshops with residents, and participate in program didactics and initiatives led by community-based organization partners. The program has since expanded to Queens and Brooklyn (2023) and Westchester (2024). Few comparable programs have been evaluated.

Objective: To assess program satisfaction and participant knowledge, attitudes (confidence and community connectedness), and behaviors related to nutrition, food justice, and community cohesion.

Design/Methods: Anonymous surveys were administered in English at program initiation and conclusion to summer 2021-2024 interns using Qualtrics. Matched, de-identified surveys were pooled. Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed differences between pre and post survey Likert-type scale item means using STATA v18.5.030.

Results: Overall, 87 interns completed pre-surveys (94.6%), and 69 completed post-surveys (79.3%) (Table 1). Half of participants were aged 15-17 years. Nearly two-thirds (60.7%) identified as Hispanic. One-quarter identified as Black (27.6%), followed by Asian (21.8%), White (20.7%), Native American (3.5%), and bi/multiracial (9.2%). Two-thirds (68.9%) identified as cisgender female. Significant increases were identified in knowledge across all domains, including health, the food-environment relationship, and community resources (Table 2). Significant improvements in behaviors related to fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption were also identified. Increased confidence in sharing nutrition information, preparing new vegetables, and giving advice on food insecurity was identified, but there was no significant increase in confidence in ability to cook vegetables. Participants reported feeling more capable of making change in their communities and increased community connectedness. All participants would recommend the internship to peers, and 92.8% were very or extremely satisfied with their experiences, a proportion that did not vary significantly across years.

Conclusion(s): Participants reported significant gains in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to community cohesion, nutrition, and food justice. Program expansion did not affect program satisfaction and recommendation rates, suggesting potential for successful program scalability.

Table 1
Sociodemographic Data

Table 2
Results of Pre-Post Surveys

Table 3
Program Satisfaction