University at Buffalo (UB)
Veggie Van Study
Development and evaluation of a mobile produce market (The Veggie Van) to bring fresh, local, affordable food to lower income and under-served communities.
Project description
The Veggie Van study is designed to help understand the best strategies for running mobile produce markets. We are partnering with 9 current mobile market programs across the country to refine our mobile market toolkit as well as with new mobile markets interested in support to get started. We will complete a comprehensive evaluation process across all 9 Mobile Markets. Community members in each community targeted by the mobile markets will become active participants in the research process, assisting with recruitment and data collection. After one year of implementation of the Veggie Van model, we will measure the change in fruit and vegetable consumption for participants as well as use data and feedback to refine a Veggie Van toolkit to establish “best practices” for future mobile market projects.
Students will work with the research team on: participant recruitment, data collection/management, quantitative/qualitative data analysis, literature reviews, administrative/project coordination tasks, community outreach activities, and website/social media communication management.
Project outcome
The project outcome will be based on the interest of the student, and will include either a poster, literature review, or co-authored publication.
Project details
| Length of commitment | About a semester (3-5 months) |
| Start time | Anytime |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | Hybrid |
| Level of collaboration | Individual student project |
| Benefits | Academic credit; work study |
| Who is eligible | Juniors and seniors |
Core partners
Project mentor
Lucia Leone
Assistant Professor
Community Health and Health Behavior
Leah Vermont
Research Assistant / Project Director
Community Health and Health Behavior
Phone: (716) 829-6681
Email: leahverm@buffalo.edu
Start the project
- Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
- After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.)
Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
Keywords
Community Health and Health Behavior