·         86% were female

·         97% were over 51 years old

·         81% being over 65

Of our market participants:

·         73% had incomes below 25K per year

·         54% receiving annual incomes at or below $15,000

·         43% had no health insurance 

When asked where they shopped for fruits and vegetables 86% said they shopped locally, regardless of price.  At the Master’s Table Farm Market, we kept detailed price information on the retailers throughout our three towns.  Problematically, those 86% who shopped locally regardless of price:

·         were spending 18% more on food in Middlebury, CT than average,

·         were paying prices upwards of 35% above normal retail in Washington, CT – normal retail being established as the average costs of food at larger grocery stores or discount grocery stores in the surrounding areas. 

Of our respondents, 36% spend $50 or less each week on groceries (the proper Thrift Budget by the USDA) and 42% spend $50-100 per week on groceries – about $5,300 per year.  There was also a direct correlation showing that those with the least amounts of income spent the most money to secure their food, in some cases exceeding 50% of their discretionary income. 

When asked about fruit or vegetable consumption, 85% said they sometimes or never ate their recommended 5 servings of fruits or vegetables every day with 49% eating 3 servings or less per day.  When asked why:

·         49% said that fruits/vegetables were too expensive

·         20% said they didn’t have time to prepare their own meals

·         13% said they didn’t have transportation to stores with affordable produce

·         and surprisingly, 29% said they didn’t know HOW to cook fruits or vegetables