By Allison Bunyan
Bread for the World advocates for policies in the 2023 U.S. farm bill that will advance our three principles for effective food systems: nutrition, equity, and sustainability.
Recently, Bread discussed how strengthening the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) can contribute to a farm bill that embodies Bread’s values. GusNIP’s Nutrition Incentive Grants enable people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to receive an additional monthly benefit amount specifically to buy fruits and vegetables.
Another component of GusNIP is its Produce Prescription program (PPR). Currently, the PPR receives 10 percent of GusNIP’s funding. Expanding the produce prescription benefit would increase the very small percentage of SNAP participants who have increased access to healthy foods through GusNIP and its PPR.
GusNIP’s PPR project implementers work in partnership with healthcare providers to prescribe fresh produce to low-income patients with chronic medical conditions that have been linked to diet, such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
A major goal of “prescribing” fruits and vegetables is to increase people’s consumption of these foods, which can lower the risk of chronic medical conditions.
Other goals of the PPR project include reducing food insecurity as well as unnecessary spending on health care. The potential for savings on healthcare costs is significant since 85 percent of all U.S. healthcare spending is on costs related to dietary-linked diseases.
GusNIP’s PPR project is making progress toward these goals. The latest national evaluation shows that participants consume more fruits and vegetables than the average American. In addition, studies of produce prescription programs have found that their impacts match or even surpass the effects of prescription drug therapies.¹
In June, Bread highlighted GusNIP during its annual Advocacy Summit. Freida Graves, Director of Food Systems, Health, and Wellness at FAITH Farm & Orchard, spoke on a panel about GusNIP. She shared her experiences in developing a PPR in Gary, Indiana, through the GusNIP program.
FAITH Farm & Orchard is a one-acre farm focused on making fresh, local, and nutritious food available to residents in and around Gary, Indiana. In partnership with local hospitals and doctors, FAITH Farm recently received a three-year PPR grant from GusNIP.
Graves exemplifies the theme of this year’s Advocacy Summit, the Power of Perseverance, through her commitment to enabling people to access healthy food and to promoting policies that will reduce food insecurity and health disparities in her community.
With a background in nursing, Graves is passionate about bringing Food as Medicine initiatives to her community. She comments, “I could give you a billion stories, but I have to tell you, what touches my heart the most is helping people get healthy in just a little way. Just putting a small footprint into the big disparities that we have.”
The project funded by this grant will provide free weekly produce and ongoing nutrition education to residents with specific health conditions. People will be shown how to select produce that meets their specific health needs. Graves adds that community members “are really interested to learn about how to eat in a healthy way and being able to have access to fresh food and vegetables.”
Graves sees PPR’s potential to turn around food and health disparities in Gary for generations to come. She is focused on the sustainability of the project, emphasizing that, “We understand this is a three-year grant, but this is not a three-year process. It’s going to take 10 years or better to get some of the things turned around in this community.”
Allison Bunyan is an Emerson Hunger Fellow, Policy and Research Institute, with Bread for the World.
¹Haslam A, Gill J, Taniguchi T, Love C, Jernigan VB. The effect of food prescription programs on chronic disease management in primarily low-income populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Health. 2022 Feb 2:2601060211070718. doi 10.1177/02601060211070718. Epub ahead of print. Complete citation available on request.
