Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Washington County is home to 43,687 residents, 72.4% of whom are Black, 27.7% of whom live below the federal poverty level and 14.4% have no health insurance. Fourteen census tracts in Washington County are low-income and have low access to food; a further six census tracts have a high number of households withouth vehichle access and are more than one-half mile from a supermarket. In 2015, the latest year for which county-level data is available, 43.2% of adults in Washington County were obese, compared to a national rate of 28.9%. Hospitalization rates for heart disease per 1,000 Medicare enrollees is 171.1 for Washington County, compared to 147.4 for Mississippi and 129.6 nationwide, and The diabetes rate among adults in Washington County is 13.8%, compared to state and national averages of 12.4% and 8.9% respectively. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As stated above, the program has offered multiple training classes for participants which were well attended throughout the year. Educational programs were held throughout the year with nine grocery store tours, 20 one-on-one nutritional sessions, 47 Lunch and Learns, 53 Wellness Center activities, and 57 Cooking Classes held for participants. Attendance rates at these sessions were 100% for grocery store tours, 100% for one-on-one sessions, 82% for Lunch and Learns, 78% for Wellness Center activities, and 86% for Cooking Class attendance. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The program has an outside evaluation team at the University of Memphis who is currently working on a report which will be a deep dive and more granular report on the project. When this report is completed, it will be made available for distribution to our stakeholders and the community as a whole for review. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The program has engaged the services of a master gardener to assist with the community garden so the garden can be more robust than last year. This master gardener will also offer gardening classes which will be open to the community beginning in January 2025 and will run through the end of the funding period. These classes will be held monthly or bi-weekly. The program plans to advertise the Enhancement program through social media, outdoor advertising, a direct mail campaign and other media to have a larger reach in Washington County. The program will continue to provide educational programming as it did in the last year; however, with the cooking classes and lunch and learns, the participants will be provided boxes of vegetables and the recipe that was demonstrated so participants can cook the dish at home. These boxes will be provided to participants who are present at the time of the lunch and learn or cooking class. The incentive has also been increased to $125 per voucher to assist with the rising cost of food. The program will focus heavily on the garden and participant participation in educational classes as well as one-on-one classes where such things as the USDA plate method is taught and participants are given the actual plate.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The total number of participants served by the program was 146 ever served with 80 participants completing the program within the reporting period. Sixty-five participants lowered their BMI by an average of 1.67 points. Participants in this program also lowered A1C by an average of 1%. The program also saw drops in participants blood pressure and cholesterol. Over the course of the last year, the program has distributed 766 vouchers for a total of $74,780 with participants using 753 vouchers for a total of $62,208.56. This equates to approximately 83% of the money distributed being used by participants. The program also increased voucher dollars from the original $40 per voucher to $80 per voucher to cover the cost of inflation and provide additional funds for participants to purchase more fruits and vegetables. Participants purchased 19,376 fruits and vegetables over the year. Educational programs were held throughout the year with nine grocery store tours, 20 one-on-one nutritional sessions, 47 Lunch and Learns, 53 Wellness Center activities, and 57 Cooking Classes held for participants. Attendance rates at these sessions were 100% for grocery store tours, 100% for one-on-one sessions, 82% for Lunch and Learns, 78% for Wellness Center activities, and 86% for Cooking Class attendance. The program also planted a community garden with 5 - 10x10 raised beds behind theLeland Medical Clinic. Distributed to the community between June 1, 2023 and July 31, 2023 were 30 jalapenos, 13 bell peppers, 77 okra, 16 zucchini, 5 yellow squash, 30 tomatoes, 134 cherry tomatoes, and 67 cucumbers.
Publications
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Program participants are located in Washington County, Mississippi which is home to 43,687 residents, 72.4% of whom are Black/African-American, 27.7% of whom live below the federal poverty level and 14.4% have no health insurance. Fourteen tracts in Washington County are low-income and have low access to food; a further six census tracts have a high number of households without vehicle access and are more than a half mile from a supermarket. Participants in this program were former participants in the Produce Rx program and have been transferred to this Enhancement program. These participants are patients with a diet related chronic condition such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. These are patients of the Leland Medical Clinic that are 18 years and older. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Paricipants are required to attend cooking classes, Lunch N Learns, nutrition education sessions and wellness center activities in order to obtain a refill on their $80/month Rx Enhancement card. These classes are provided in-person and on-line. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Enchancement program has seen publicity on social media, word of mouth and on the local television station. The nutritionist over this program has been a featured guest on the local television station spreading the word of the program's community garden and other activities. The community garden has been featured on social media. The nutritionist was also filmed doing cooking classes which can be found on the Leland Medical Clinic website. Progress on the program is also provided to the Patient Advisory Board on a quarterly basis. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the community garden, the program plans to host gardening classes for both adults and children to encourage the community to grow their own fruits and vegetables and show how easy putting in a garden can be. The transportation van will aid in bringing those without a ride/transportation who wish to attend classes in person - again breaking down the barrier of transportation in our local area. The program will continue to monitor biometrics for participants such as BMI, HbA1C, Cholesterol, and Blood Pressure.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Participants receive $80 per month to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from our partner grocery store Stop N Shop. Dollars spent and the number of fruits and vegetables purchased are monitored and recorded on a monthly basis. There are currently 63 active participants in this program. As stated before, a community garden has been established for participants to pick fresh vegetables and cook at their homes. At this time, no fruit has been planted due to the planting season. Participants are required to attend Lunch N Learns, nutrition education session, cooking classes and wellness center education. Many of these classes are on line and can be attended virtually which elimates the transportation barrier for those who do not have a vehicle or cannot find a ride. Also, recipe cards are created after lunch n learns so participants can take these home to prepare these dishes as they learned to do in the class.
Publications
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