Tag: Healthcare innovation

According to the CDC, over 88% of American adults struggle with their daily fruit and vegetable intake, a nutritional gap that has led to the rise of food prescription or food Rx programs. These innovative public health initiatives connect patients with chronic, diet-related conditions to healthy food and nutritional support, recognizing food as a form of preventative and therapeutic medicine.

According to the USDA, nearly 15% of U.S. households with children experienced food insecurity in 2020. A produce prescription program is an innovative public health intervention where healthcare providers prescribe fresh fruits and vegetables to patients with food insecurity or diet-related health conditions, like diabetes or hypertension. This initiative treats food as a form of medicine to improve patient health outcomes and overall well-being.

According to the World Health Organization, diet-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, are among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The food as medicine strategy is an emerging approach that integrates nutritional interventions directly into the healthcare system to help prevent, manage, and even treat these conditions.