The nonprofit Well Fed and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) East Regional Campus in Helena-West Helena are partnering to combat nutritional insecurity through a food prescription program and research study called Good Food Rx.
The initiative, which will serve patients at the UAMS Family Medical Center in Helena-West Helena, takes a holistic approach to diet-intervention practices, empowering people to improve their health by consuming the right kinds of healthy foods.
Patients with diet-related conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity will be given “prescriptions” for healthier, nutritious dietary options tailored to their health concerns. They will then receive groceries for free each month at an on-site food market developed by Well Fed.
Good Food Rx will hold its first food delivery day March 14.
“We are thrilled to launch this much-needed health care program here in Arkansas with UAMS,” said Josh Harris, executive director of Well Fed. “Together, we aim to forge a brighter future for health care and show that diet intervention is a powerful and necessary strategy to improve health outcomes.”
LaShanda Albert, research coordinator at the UAMS East Regional Campus, said the program is an important development for people in the Arkansas Delta, a region that contains counties ranked among the lowest in the state for overall health outcomes.
“We want to enrich people’s lives and improve their health,” she said. “Good health is essential and valuable for every individual.”
The program will also provide patients with nutrition education and monthly checkups that include assessments of their blood sugar, blood pressure, weight and body mass index. Engaging patients through these monthly meetings will help build confidence and accountability as they make life-changing choices to improve their health, Harris said.
“Some of the components of what we’re doing with this project can be found across the country,” he said. “But by putting these pieces together in a certain way, we’re creating something that’s unique.”
Funding for the Good Food Rx program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Delta Health Care Services Grant, Phillips County Giving Tree grants from the Arkansas Community Foundation, and a UAMS Chancellor’s Circle Grant.
“We are so thankful and appreciative of our partners who have helped fund and carry out this project,” said Stephanie Loveless, MPH, director of outreach at the UAMS East Regional Campus.
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