Screening, Mobile Markets, Nutrition Education

By Jamie Cetrone | Categories: | Comments Off on Screening, Mobile Markets, Nutrition Education

Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) includes the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Provident Hospital of Cook County, Oak Forest Health Center, and 16 ambulatory and community health care clinics in the greater Chicago area and suburban Cook County. CCHHS launched a pilot program in 2015 that connected food-insecure patients to fresh produce resources through the Greater Chicago Food Depository. CCHHS uses a two-question food insecurity screening tool during patient intake, and patients who screen positive are given vouchers for fresh produce at mobile produce markets called “FRESH Trucks.” CCHHS also connects food-insecure patients in need of permanent assistance to local Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) resources. CCHHS has also piloted culinary and nutrition education programs to teach patients about healthy eating.