University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty and students are part of three federally funded community partnerships in Western Massachusetts aimed at alleviating food insecurity and encouraging healthy eating by expanding access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
The partnerships are funded by three, three-year $500,000 grants from the USDA’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which nationally has invested $59.4 million through GusNIP’s nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs.
Produce prescription (PRx) programs are a medical treatment or preventive service for people who have diet-related health risks or conditions, food insecurity or other challenges to obtaining nutritious foods. Individuals are referred to the program by a healthcare provider or health insurance plan.
“Food insecurity is persistent in low-income communities and presents a major barrier to the health and well-being of families and individuals in Western Massachusetts,” says Lorraine Cordeiro, professor of nutrition in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences, and director for the Center for Research on Families (CRF) at UMass Amherst. “Produce prescription programs are a really innovative way to engage hospitals, clinics and health centers with local farmers and other entities in the food supply chain to improve food access and promote healthy eating.”
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