The Lexington Farmers’ Market, alongside our fiscal sponsor Blue Grass Community Action Partnership, is seeking addition support for the Produce Prescription Plus (PPP) pilot program launching in SPRING 2020 in Central Kentucky.
PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION PLUS (PPP)
The program equips social support and healthcare providers with a tool to help alleviate hunger for vulnerable seniors. Studies have shown that older adults face an elevated risk of food insecurity and some older Americans are often forced to make difficult choices between paying for food, medicine, and utilities. Lower income Americans are also faced with an increased occurrence of chronic disease and diet-related ailments such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Increasingly, seniors are responsible for grandchildren due to the opioid drug epidemic which adds an increased financial burden.
Unlike some fruit and vegetable prescription programs, PPP allows both healthcare providers and social support providers such as social workers or employees at senior centers to issue a prescription. This allows for multiple populations to receive needed nutrition supplementation and food security: both those with chronic and acute illness AND those suffering from trauma and stress exacerbated by financial concerns and lack of access to community resources.
Additionally, the PPP helps support local farmers (average age of 56 in Kentucky), engages recipients in a robust community, and gives seniors a choice in what they choose to purchase, which can help restore a feeling of dignity.
HOW IT WORKS
- Provider identifies vulnerable senior
- Provider issues a PPP prescription for 4, 8, or 12 weeks.
- Senior takes prescription to participating farmers market to redeem for $20 in produce coupons once per week.
- Senior shops with farmers.
Additional services such as meal planning, food preparation, and nutrition education will be provided on site at farmers’ markets. As well as solutions to address transportation and limited mobility concerns.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Write funds into your community health needs assessment action plan to underwrite incentives & technical support and outreach (via dietitians and social workers). The pilot program is slated to launch in Central KY in the Spring of 2020, with hopes of continual expansion across Kentucky pending funding. For more information or additional opportunities (especially pertaining to MCOs and Regional Healthcare Providers) to get involved as a sponsor or referral site contact the Program Director, Josh England, at produceprescriptionplus@gmail.com or visit www.produceprescriptionplus.com.
Produce Prescription Plus is a pilot program of the Lexington Farmers’ Market with the support of the Blue Grass Community Action Partnership 501(c)(3). {The project idea was originally conceived as a framework for the AARP Foundation Food Security Grant 2019.}
Additional PPP pilot program community partners and referral sites include:
- Bluegrass Farm to Table
- Kentucky Department of Agriculture
- Bluegrass Area Development District
- Bluegrass Area Agency on Aging & Independent Living
- Community Farm Alliance
- CHI Saint Joseph Health
- Fayette County Cooperative Extension Agency
- FoodChain
- GreenHouse17
- Health First Bluegrass
- Jubilee Jobs
- Kentucky Equal Justice Center
- Cabinet for Health And Family Service, Department for Aging and Independent Living
- Independent Dietitians & Case Workers
- GleanKY
- Lexington Rescue Mission
- Lexington Community Radio
