This article was written by Kenny Escobar, Nutrition & Physical Activity Coordinator, Jamila Outlar, Produce Prescription Coordinator, and Intern Stephanie Garcia.
In the winter of 2023, Bronx Health REACH and Corbin Hill Food Project Inc. (CHFP) launched the Food as Medicine Produce Prescription Program (FAM) for patients at three Bronx-based Institute for Family Health (IFH) centers to promote the consumption of healthy food.
The FAM project is funded by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) of the USDA. Project participants must be an IFH patient over 18 years of age and screen positive for food insecurity. Once enrolled, participants receive a box of high quality, fresh local fruits and vegetables on a bi-weekly basis for a minimum of six months. The average price for the box of produce is roughly $35 but through FAM the cost to patients is only $2.50. The participants can pay with SNAP, cash, debit, or credit card. Participants who have SNAP can also pay with Health Bucks.
The FAM project also provides participants with recipes at each distribution in order to encourage the eating of fruits and vegetables. These recipes include creative and helpful ways to use the produce from that week’s distribution. Food demonstrations accompany the distribution of the recipes at least once a month at each health center introducing participants to fruits and vegetables they may not have known or previously eaten.
Chef Yadi leading a food demonstration.
Bronx native Chef Yadira Garcia, also known as, the “Happy Healthy Latina” or Chef Yadi, is the chef enthusiastically creating delicious and nutritious dishes for patients to try. She makes sure that patients are educated on the multiple ways to prepare the different produce and is always open to answering any questions that the participants may have.
As of February 2024, when enrollment ended, 374 patients were enrolled in the program and 130 have completed their 6-month commitment. We will conduct a program evaluation to assess patients’ overall opinions and feedback of the program to determine the effectiveness of this intervention and the impact it has had on the participants. To date feedback from some participants indicate that the program, for them, is a resounding success. An Urban Horizons patient shared that they are “very happy as a lot of us need this program, we get healthy food and we need this in the neighborhood. You’re doing a very good thing for us." A Stevenson patient said she “enjoys this program so much as I am learning how to cook and eat different things.” A patient from Walton stated, “by receiving these produce box two times a month, I am able to eat healthier which is contributing to my weight loss.”