Food Rx: A Cross-Sector Approach to Improving Health and Health Equity

By Hannah Lambalot | Categories: | Comments Off on Food Rx: A Cross-Sector Approach to Improving Health and Health Equity

High Harris County, Texas, has America’s highest number of uninsured residents, and one in five patients at Harris Health System screen positive for food insecurity. The health system partnered with Houston Food Bank (HFB), the University of Texas School of Public Health, and grocery store H-E-B for a Food Rx program based at two family practice clinics.

“Our food ‘farmacies’ are unique in that we go beyond a food insecurity model. Our patients are able to select the healthy foods they want as they walk and learn with a dietitian,” said Chief Integration Officer Karen Tseng. “We also provide them with the skills and confidence to translate those raw ingredients into healthy, cost-­effective, culturally appropriate meals through our culinary medicine programming.”

Patients enroll with a community health worker, work with a dietitian to select healthy food; connect with an HFB navigator to enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and are linked to community food resources.

Patients with uncontrolled diabetes are invited to join a nine-month program, in which they participate in biweekly “walk and learn” sessions with a diabetes educator while redeeming 30 pounds of fresh food from the food farmacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Harris Health System adapted the walk-and-learn education model with curbside delivery, biweekly tele-education, and virtual culinary education initiatives.

Food Rx served more than 650 patients in its first year. Participants improved their nutrition knowledge scores, increased daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and reported increased confidence in basic cooking techniques. Program graduates decreased HbA1c levels by an average of 0.72 percentage points.