Penn State Health's Food As Medicine Initiative Links 24 Gardens, Six Community Fridges to Diet-Related Disease Research
核心洞察
Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine (搜索) operate a Food As Medicine Initiative spanning 24 gardens and six community fridges across six counties with more than 100 community partners.
The program combines produce prescriptions (搜索), medically tailored groceries or meals, and nutrition and culinary education to prevent and manage diet-related chronic disease such as diabetes (搜索) and heart disease (搜索).
Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine (搜索) are studying whether produce prescriptions (搜索), nutrition education and gardening programs improve health outcomes, including a study combining diabetes (搜索) education with produce prescriptions.
Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine (搜索) are scaling a coordinated Food As Medicine Initiative that pairs community food access with clinical care, education and research, with the health system now supporting 24 gardens and six community fridges across six counties in partnership with more than 100 community organizations.
The initiative offers a network of food access, nutrition and education programs designed to connect people with healthy food and the skills to prevent and manage diet-related chronic disease such as diabetes (搜索) or heart disease (搜索). Program components include produce prescriptions (搜索), medically tailored groceries or meals, and nutrition and culinary education.
"We're not just planting gardens," said Laurie Crawford, program manager for food access at Penn State Health. "We're creating a network of food access points and sustainable food options with our community partners."
The effort reflects a broader Food As Medicine movement in health care across the country, according to the health system.
Community Access Points and Clinical Touchpoints
One visible component is the Chestnut Street Community Center in Lebanon, which opened a garden and community fridge with free, healthy food supported by the initiative. Neighbor Angela Brownstein, 52, began volunteering by picking vegetables and stocking the fridge and now uses it herself.
"In the beginning, we were putting food in," Brownstein said. "Now we take food out, due to an income change, the high cost of living and a need for food."
Brownstein visits the fridge every few days to pick up fresh produce such as tomatoes and cucumbers for her nine-person household. "It's helped out a lot," she said. "We've been eating healthier with the greens we get from the fridge."
Penn State Health also runs a Pantries and Wellness Support program in which community health nurses offer health screenings at food pantries and other convenient locations. "We layer services in the places people already visit to expand our impact," said Amber Coleman, director of community health at Penn State Health.
For patients with urgent food needs, the initiative provides emergency food boxes across 22 primary care and Penn State Cancer Institute (搜索) sites.
Culinary Education for Providers and Patients
Getting healthy food into people's hands is only the first step, the program's leaders note; patients and providers also need the skills and confidence to prepare it. At a June culinary medicine class, health care providers and residents learned cooking skills to share with patients.
"We teach practical skills that help people prepare affordable, healthy meals that fit into their busy lives," said Susan Veldheer, an associate professor of family and community medicine and public health sciences at the College of Medicine.
Education program specialist Hillary Amici demonstrated a healthy dessert charcuterie board with nuts, fruit, whole-grain crackers and dark chocolate, along with recipes for lentil burgers, cucumber salad and tropical fruit salad, before participants paired up to prepare them.
Jen Curry, a pediatric oncology nurse specialist at Penn State Health Golisano Children's Hospital (搜索), attended to find ways to help patients and families eat well during cancer (搜索) treatment. "Many kids already have food aversions, and then chemotherapy changes their taste buds," Curry said. "It can be difficult to find healthy foods that taste good." She now shares ideas such as blending fruits and vegetables into smoothies and creating colorful, appetizing arrangements of produce.
Building the Evidence Base
Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine (搜索) are studying which Food As Medicine approaches work best, who benefits most, and how programs can be strengthened and expanded. Veldheer leads studies examining whether produce prescriptions (搜索), nutrition education and gardening programs can improve health outcomes and help prevent and manage chronic disease.
One study evaluates the impact of combining diabetes (搜索) education with produce prescriptions (搜索) on blood sugar management. Other researchers are examining how these programs affect the health of children and families and how nutrition can support the health of cancer (搜索) survivors.
"Our strength is not simply in delivering community-based programs or conducting research, it's in connecting the two to improve health and generate evidence for what works," Coleman said.
The initiative also frames food and nutrition security as part of Penn State Health's commitment to advancing health equity, with the health system pointing to its Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy as related efforts. For community partners, the collaboration itself is part of the value. "Together with Penn State Health, we're building relationships that make the whole community healthier," said Laurie Funk, founder of the Chestnut Street Community Center.