Produce prescription program kicks off in the Bronx

posted by

Sophia Guida

Produce prescription program kicks off in the Bronx

March 31, 2023

The Institute’s produce prescription program offers biweekly produce boxes for a period of six months, at greatly reduced cost, to families struggling with food insecurity who are referred by their care team. The program completed its first distribution at three of our Bronx health centers on February 15, 2023. Throughout the day, each family—50 families at the Stevenson Family Health Center, 50 at Urban Horizons Family Health Center, and 35 at the Walton Family Health Center—collected a 14-pound box of fresh fruit and vegetables.

“We are hopeful that providing fresh, high-quality produce at the same site where people receive health care will help alleviate some of the issues connected to both food access and health in the Bronx,” said Rachel Ingram, Senior Program Manager for Bronx Health REACH, who is coordinating the program. “Access to affordable, healthy food is as important in the management of many chronic health conditions as access to medications.”

Once they have been identified and referred, the families fill out a survey at the start of the program and at the end of the six-month period to see whether the program reduced food insecurity within the household. The produce prescription program is funded through a grant from the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program. The Institute is grateful to our project partner, Corbin Hill Food Project, who provides the produce. Additional project partners include the Harlem Wellness Center and Mount Sinai.