Non Technical Summary
La Semilla Food Center seeks to expand and enhance a Produce Prescription (PPR) project servingthe Paso del Norte borderland region of Doña Ana County, NM, and El Paso County, TX. OurCommunity Education Program will lead a coordinated effort to distribute annually $85,000+ inproduce prescriptions to 135 households through three partnerships across two counties. Leveraginglocal food system assets, including La Semilla's integrated programming, our proposal offers eligiblecommunity members fresh, local produce via Farm Fresh Rx boxes at accessible locations andexpansion of much needed culturally-rooted programming that reaffirms inherently healthy foodtraditions, including production and preparation of that food. Project expansion includes maintainingtwo Federally Qualified Health Center partnerships while establishing a new healthcare partner and anew patient population: pediatric diabetes patients and their families. Enhancements include increasednutrition incentives, climate adaptations, and programmatic features increasing participant andhealthcare clinician and practitioner active support and participation. Having achieved statisticallysignificant effects in its initial implementation, our proposal provides an opportunity to continue toevaluate both the process and the impact of a PPR program in an underrepresented low-income, rural,and primarily Latino community including individuals with disabilities with the novel approach ofintegrating food-bearing plants and gardening as part of heritage foodways, which offer a locus ofresilience and resources for long-term behavior change (increased fruit and vegetable consumption).Led by La Semilla's culturally competent, bilingual, bicultural staff, the project strives towardsexemplary practices in food security, environmental stewardship, and economic and social equity.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
703	6099	1010	100%

Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Goals / Objectives
Leveraging local food system assets, the Expanding Health Impact with Veggie Scripts & Gardening in the Paso del Norte Region nutrition incentive program has one overarching goal: to increase the access to and consumption of fruits and vegetables by low-income community members who are at risk of developing or have developed a diet-related disease.

Project Methods
Anxiety and/or depression screenerParticipant blood pressure dataNTAE core metrics with required sample size of100-130 surveys over the course of our projectDyadic surveys (e.g., parent and child) at the children's hospital