Associations between frequency of food shopping at different food sources and fruit and vegetable intake among rural residents in upstate New York, USA

Objective:To examine the frequency of shopping at different food sources and the associations between shopping at different food sources and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake among upstate New York rural residents.Design:Cross-sectional study. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed models were used.Setting:Eighty-two rural communities in upstate New York, USA.Participants:Adults (n 465; 82·3 % female, mean age 51·5 years, mean BMI 31·7 kg/m2).Results:Within one’s community, the majority of participants reported often going to supermarkets (73·1 %). Many participants sometimes or occasionally shopped at superstores (48·0 %), convenience stores (57·9 %), small grocery stores or local markets (57·2 %), farmers’ markets or FV stores (66·6 %), dollar stores (51·5 %), pharmacies (46·0 %), or farm stands or community-supported agriculture (56·8 %). Most participants had never utilized food banks or food pantries (94·0 %), community gardens (92·7 %) or home food delivery (91·9 %). While frequent visits to farmers’ markets or farm stands were associated with higher fruit intake (P < 0·001), frequent visits to food co-ops or food hubs were associated with lower fruit intake (P = 0·004). Frequent visits to convenience stores (P = 0·002) and dollar stores (P = 0·004) were associated with lower vegetable intake. When FV intakes were combined, frequent visits to farmers’ markets or farm stands (P < 0·001) were associated with higher FV intake, and frequent visits to convenience stores (P = 0·005) were associated with lower FV intake.Conclusions:Findings from the present study provide important insight for informing future food environment interventions related to helping rural residents consume adequate FV.