Traditional evaluation instruments often fall short in capturing the effects of localized interventions, such as community meal programs or farmers’ markets, on fruit and vegetable intake. This study presents pilot findings from a newly developed tool designed to measure the impact of community-based programs on dietary behaviors, specifically addressing the lack of effective evaluation methods in underserved populations. Using a participatory research framework, the survey was co-designed with stakeholders and community members. It was piloted across four community programs, with results validated and compared to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for benchmarking. The survey achieved a 98.2% completion rate. Among participants, 62.5% reported eating more fruits and vegetables after engaging with the programs, identifying cost, time, and access as the main barriers. A strong correlation (r = 0.876, p = 0.12) was observed between the pilot data on daily fruit and vegetable consumption and national averages, though it did not reach statistical significance. The findings indicate that the survey can effectively capture both dietary behaviors and the influence of community interventions, highlighting the need for further research to refine its application across diverse settings.
