The duo announced this week that they are working with Boston-based nonprofit About Fresh to enroll veterans in two prescription drug pilot programs at veterans’ health care facilities in Salt Lake City and Houston. Participants who have or are at risk for a diet-related health condition will receive $100 per month of fresh food, nutrition education and ongoing guidance from a registered dietitian to improve their health and food security. receive.
Researchers at the University of Utah will assess the impact of the pilot on participants’ health and medical costs, as well as their satisfaction and usage with the program.
This program has two goals. It is about improving the lives of veterans and enhancing the understanding and use of food as a medical program in the broader health care system, Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv Shah told officials gathered in Washington this week. .
he explained that he feels ‘Real sense of urgency’After seeing how the negative impacts of COVID-19 have been complicated and magnified, testing and promoting food as food as a potential tool for managing, reversing and preventing diet-related illness matter.
“We lost half a million Americans to COVID, which is probably an underestimate, because demographics had more comorbidities than any other country on the planet. , lost many Americans.” he said.
As such, he added: “The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to have signed an agreement with the Veterans Health Association, the largest integrated health care system in the United States, to promote this food as a medicine.”na
Early Response, Results of Veterans-Led Prescription Production Program Are Positivena
Undersecretary Sheriff Ernahal echoed the Shah’s sentiments, noting that the grant provided by the Rockefeller Foundation would help the VA expand its existing agricultural formulary program.
He shared stories of veterans who are already participating in formulary produce programs through the VA. Among them was one who said that before joining the program he ate ice cream sandwiches every day, rarely ate apples, and had never eaten fresh vegetables. However, after receiving her prescription, she felt more energetic and reported that her cholesterol and pre-diabetes test results had improved.
He reported from another vet that he enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables but could not afford them before joining the program. I’m here.
These are not isolated cases, nor are they limited needs. A study shared by the Rockefeller Foundation found that 86% of veterans were overweight or obese at the time of their first visit to his VHA clinic, and diabetes prevalence was higher among U.S. veterans than the general U.S. population. is at least 5% higher.
Increasing opportunities to use food as medicinena
The Rockefeller Foundation and VA partnership will not only seek to address these challenges, but will also work to improve nutrition, as the Biden administration did at the White House National Strategy Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health last fall. , reflects a commitment to combat food insecurity, El Najal said. in the United States.
That’s why the VA is working with other leading agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the USDA, to improve and test the impact of food as a health care program, Elnahal explained.
The partnership also builds on other VA initiatives, such as the EatWell program in Durham, NC, led by Reinvestment Partners.
The partnership also expands the Rockefeller Foundation’s commitment at the White House conference to advance food as a medical program, including through partnerships with the American Heart Association, Kroger and others.