Recipient Organization
THE FOOD TRUST
ONE PENN CENTER
PHILADELPHIA,PA 19103
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
To increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and associated health benefits among patients experiencing or at risk for diet-related diseases and nutrition insecurity, The Food Trust (TFT)'s Food Bucks Rx (FBRx) program connects healthcare providers and fresh food retailers around a common goal of improving access to affordable fresh produce. Building upon over a decade of experience in developing and implementing nutrition incentive programs, TFT aims to deepen the impact and evaluation of the FBRx model by collaborating with program participants and healthcare and retail partners in Pennsylvania (PA), Delaware (DE) and New Jersey (NJ). This two-year Produce Prescription Project (PPR) seeks to demonstrate and assess the effectiveness of TFT's FBRx program model on improving dietary health, increasing nutrition security and reducing healthcare costs by refining best practices for implementing produce prescriptions. By bridging the financial divide between dietary recommendations from clinicians and the availability of fresh produce in supermarkets, corner stores and farmers markets, FBRx empowers patients to take proactive steps to improve their health while also supporting the local food economy, providing a dignified and self-directed shopping experience and bringing high-quality fruits and vegetables to their families. FBRx will be combined with nutrition education to drive more impactful outcomes, leveraging TFT's existing suite of nutrition education curricula, on-staff educators and tailored resources. With a robust evaluation plan, the proposed project aims to pave the way for broader support and inclusion of produce prescription programs to deliver these benefits throughout the region and healthcare system. By working with current and new healthcare partners, The Food Trust will aim to reach 1,000 participants who will redeem at least $200,000 in fruits and vegetables.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
TFT will collaborate with healthcare partners--including a new FQHC partner in Delaware--to build on proven methods to maximize the impact of produce prescription programs and to further refine the FBRx program. This proposal will demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of the FBRx program on improving dietary health, increasing nutrition security and reducing healthcare costs by refining best practices, increasing collaboration with TFT's nutrition education programs and piloting new redemption methods. TFT will expand nutrition education options for FBRx participants and further develop models for cross-program collaboration. TFT will continue to develop and test emerging technologies with the potential to make FBRx redemption more user-friendly for patients and retail staff. Retailers and other community members also benefit from FBRx increasing demand for fresh produce, making it more financially viable to operate a healthy food retail operation, in turn improving fresh food access for all.The objectives of TFT's project are as follows:Objective 1: Refine best practices for produce prescription implementation to improve dietary health, increase nutrition security and reduce healthcare costs.Objective 2: Deepen collaborations across TFT programming to provide nutrition education and healthy food retail support.Objective 3: Improve the FBRx redemption experience through a user-centered approach that optimizes emerging technology and preserves shopping choice for patients.
Project Methods
TFT's efforts will focus on deepening the impact of the FBRx program, with emphasis on refining best practices for implementation and collaboration with nutrition education programs. Specifically, the program will:?Deepen relationships with highly engaged healthcare partners to assess and share best practices in the PPR field;Facilitate a diverse retail redemption network across geographies and retail types;Pilot emerging technologies and models--such as grocery delivery and loadable restricted spend cards--that simplify redemption and data tracking processes;Work with partners to evaluate program impact on F/V intake, health outcomes and healthcare usage;Offer patients a variety of nutrition education options; andIncrease patients' awareness and familiarity with healthy retail settings, including farmers markets.The FBRx program evaluation aligns closely with national GusNIP evaluation and works collaboratively with several experienced research institutions. With decades of research experience and a firm understanding of participant surveying processes, IRB review and retailer/healthcare partner capacity for data collection, TFT will support the development of the produce prescription evidence-base for both GusNIP and the field at large. TFT's FBRx evaluation will include processes and outcomes for each of the key components of the project, as outlined below.Four key process evaluation questions will be addressed:1) What is the FBRx implementation process? Including best practices for determining program eligibility; clinical flow; FBRx distribution and redemption methods; reimbursement of food retail vendors; and methods to integrate local fruits and vegetables.2) Who are key FBRx stakeholders and what are their roles on the project? How can TFT partner with healthcare providers to prioritize clinical settings with maximum impacts, and design programs to track improvements to dietary health?3) What approvals and safeguards are needed in order to connect relevant patient health data with FBRx participation data?4) What are the challenges in implementing FBRx with healthcare partners across state lines and statewide, and how can program operations be continually improved?Four key outcome evaluation questions will be addressed:1) What is the reach and impact of FBRx among patients who are enrolled in a state-sponsored health plan and at risk of diet-related disease?2) How has the FBRx program improved dietary health and food security?3) How has the FBRx program supported food retailers in establishing sustainable systems to sell fresh, healthy food?4) How can FBRx outcomes affect other health outcomes and healthcare usage in participating patients?