Rock Island Today

Best medicine includes healthy veggies; Macon County garden wins top award

Healthy food can improve health outcomes. A team of University of Illinois Extension staff in Macon County combined efforts to improve food access for participants in Crossing Healthcare’s Prescription Produce Program.

Their efforts earned the team Extension’s Interdisciplinary Team Award. Awardees include Staci Coussens, Louise Hyneman, Marisa Capps, Julia Duncan, Sarah Vogel, and Jenna Ward.

Crossing Healthcare, a community health center, initiated the prescription produce program in 2016, serving patients with diet-related illnesses. In 2018, Macon County Master Gardeners began volunteering in the garden, and horticulture staff added expertise on improving the garden. Their efforts have provided more than 5,000 pounds of produce to hundreds of patients in the program.

A Growing Together grant allowed the partnership to expand. SNAP-Education Extension staff assisted Crossing Healthcare’s dietitians implement the USDA’s Hunger Vital Signs food insecurity assessment to confirm the food insecurity status of patients.

Creating a safe, welcoming space for families to learn and taste test recipes is a critical component in ensuring patients consume the produce they receive. To support this, SNAP-Ed staff provide nutrition education and recipes that match the food distributed each week.

4-H youth development staff complemented the program by providing nutrition education for youth.

The team award was presented during the Illinois Extension Annual Conference held in November in Urbana.

Original source can be found here