Assessment of a Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program in the Northern Manhattan Community

This study aimed to assess whether produce prescription redemption was associated with food insecurity (FI), sociodemographics, and nutrition-related health measures, and to identify factors affecting participation.

Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Patients, equally divided between groups who redeemed and did not redeem prescriptions, completed a follow-up survey.

Northern Manhattan, NY.

242 patients referred to Nutrition at an academic medical center between June and November 2019.

All patients referred to Nutrition received prescriptions for produce at local Greenmarkets (patients with FI received $20; other patients received $10).

We assessed patient satisfaction and factors impacting participation. Sociodemographics and nutrition-related health measures were extracted from medical records.

The χ2 test for categorical data and Student's t-test for continuous variables.

Prescription redeemers were significantly more likely to be very satisfied with the program (P < .001), have FI (P < .01), and have elevated hemoglobin A1C than non-redeemers (6.3 vs 5.5%, P < .001). Distance, time constraints, and forgetting or losing the prescription were common barriers, while convenience and valuing healthy eating facilitated redemption.

Higher FI and worse hemoglobin A1c in patients who redeemed prescriptions suggests that our program reaches the target audience: patients needing food assistance and a healthier diet. Awareness of barriers offers areas for improvement. This provides a feasible model for hospital investment to increase access to produce to improve health and health equity.