For the past two years, the Food Bank has partnered with St. Peter’s Health Partners to offer a “Food Farmacy” for food insecure patients with diabetes. The program provides participants with weekly fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains for themselves and their family members. Participants are also offered virtual, weekly group sessions focusing on healthy eating and disease management.
Recent assessments of the “Food Farmacy” participants revealed a positive weight loss across the board and – even more significant – a drop in participants’ hemoglobin A1C, the primary screen for diabetes.
These tests confirmed what we’ve thought all along … that increased access to healthy foods has positive health outcomes for food insecure individuals with diet-related disease.
The American Diabetes Association recommends an A1C of less than 7%; these participants started the cohort with an average A1C of 10.13%. By the end of 12 weeks, this group’s average A1C was 6.78%, a dramatic drop of 33%!
“The Regional Food Bank is a critical and valued partner in this program, providing the healthiest ingredients for our patient participants. Thank you to the Regional Food Bank for all their support for this very important program.”
-St. Peter’s Health Partners