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accessHealthNews.net
October 2024
Volume 11 | Issue No. 89
"FoodFARMacy will allow us to equip as many as 25 families with
produce bags twice monthly over a 12-month period. We couldn't
be more excited about the impact this partnership will have in
helping these families gain consistent access to fresh fruits and
vegetables, and nutrition education. As for the birthing people we
serve, FoodFARMacy will play a crucial role in supporting those
with gestational diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that can
negatively impact maternal and infant health outcomes."
- Tonia Wright, Founder/CEO of Altruism, Inc.
The University Health FoodFARMacy,
developed in 2022, is a transformative
initiative aimed at addressing food
insecurity and its connection to chronic
disease management in underserved
communities across Missouri and Kansas.
Led by the Community Health Strategies
and Innovation team at University Health,
the initiative targets food deserts—areas
with limited access to nutritious food—
through a "food as medicine" approach.
This model emphasizes the role of healthy
eating in managing and preventing
chronic diseases such as diabetes,
hypertension, and heart disease by
improving access to fresh produce.
One of the primary objectives is to
increase access to nutritionally dense
foods through the biweekly distribution of
produce bags to underserved or food-
insecure populations with a diagnosed
chronic disease. The research project
evolved from a successful 12-week pilot
program after years of operating the
Healthy Harvest Mobile Market. "We
wanted to have more programming
where we linked up fruits and vegetables
with a lot of the programming," explained
Janet Rhone, University Health's manager
of community health and career outreach.
"That's kind of how the FoodFARMacy was
birthed."
During the pilot, University Health
partnered with NurtureKC and University
Health's behavioral health staff, including
community health workers, social workers,
and case managers, who served as
coaches and educators.
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