Legacy Food Rx.
Project Overview
This project provides produce prescriptions and nutrition education to low-income, Medicaid-eligible adolescents with overweight or obesity and their families through the school-based clinics, with home delivery of fresh produce supplied by Brighter Bites. It also evaluates the effectiveness and feasibility of this Produce Rx model in improving nutrition and health outcomes by integrating healthcare and food system partners.
Project Details
This project will provide produce prescriptions (Produce Rx) and nutrition education to low-income Medicaid-eligible teenagers who are overweight and obese and their families at four Legacy Community Health School-based clinics in Galena Park area in Texas. Families will be prescribed produce bags delivered to their homes. Legacy Community Health will collaborate with Brighter Bites to provide fresh produce bags for the families. We will evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the program in improving families’ health. This unique Produce Rx Program is specifically designed to bring together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food and healthcare system (Brighter Bites and Legacy Community Health) to foster an understanding of how to improve the nutrition and health status of participating households by prescribing fresh fruits and vegetables.
Project Protocol:
The primary objectives of this project are to demonstrate and clinically evaluate the impact of this projects on 1) the improvement of health outcomes among pediatric patients through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; 2) the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and 3) the reduction in healthcare use and associated costs.
- Project Funders: The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP)
Project Contact: Ru-Jye (Lindi) Chuang, DrPH
Project Team
Co-Investigator
Ru-Jye (Lindi) Chuang, DrPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences
Co-Investigator
Shreela Sharma, PhD, RDN, LD
Director, Center for Healthy Communities
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Epidemiology
Study Coordinator
Mallika Mathur, PhD
Center for Healthy Communities
Study Coordinator
Qi Xue
Center for Healthy Communities
Study Partners
Brighter Bites: https://www.brighterbites.org/
Legacy Community Health: https://www.legacycommunityhealth.org/programs/school-based-health-care/
Project Related Resources: UTHealth Houston News Article