$294,000 Kresge Foundation grant aims to connect Washtenaw County needy to healthy food options
A $294,000 Kresge Foundation grant aims to improve access to nutritious, local foods for some of Washtenaw County’s neediest residents.
Fresh asparagus from the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
AnnArbor.com | File photo
The two-year grant to the Washtenaw County Public Health Department will expand the Prescription for Health, a program started in 2009 by the Washtenaw County Public Health Department's health promotion and disease prevention division. The program’s goal is to connect low-income patients at local medical clinics to farmers’ markets and fresh foods.
"A lot of times, low-income folks want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but because of where they live, there may not be grocery stores nearby and accessible, and the cost can be prohibitive," said Jenna Bacolor, a program supervisor for the health promotion and disease prevention division.
And that can contribute to a higher incidence of chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, in low-income people.
"Our overall goal is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among low income populations and to build the capacity of clinics to push beyond the traditional medical model by forging new connections to the food system," she said.
A pilot program launched in Washtenaw County in 2009 has served two clinics since then - Packard Health and Neighborhood Health Clinic in Ypsilanti. Participating patients were given wooden coins to use to purchase fruits and vegetables at the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmer's Market.
Now, the program will expand to include more clinics and the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. Participating clinics will include Packard Health West and the University of Michigan Nurse Managed Center in Ann Arbor. The Public Health Department will frequently staff a nutritionist at both markets to assist patients with making healthy food choices. Additionally, staff at local clinics will receive training about the local food system and how to steer patients to those resources.
Juliana Keeping is a health and environment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
Susan Cerniglia
Sat, Jan 22, 2011 : 2:17 a.m.
We are sorry to hear the concern about Washtenaw County Public Health initiatives. All grant funding requires tracking and reporting; the same is true for programs that are funded by tax payers. Washtenaw County Public Health routinely provides results via community presentations, reports, our website, and other means. (Unfortunately, this type of information is not always as "exciting" as new funding, which might explain why we tend to hear about new programs more often.) For the Prescription for Health pilot project (2009), we distributed a final report and presented the evaluation findings at local, regional, and state levels. Our results led the Kresge Foundation to fund this much larger program. For the new program, we're looking at: patients' consumption of fruits and vegetables; patients' ability to manage chronic disease; health providers' understanding of healthy food resources in the community, and other factors. Results from this year's program will be available to the public in late 2011. Also, note that this grant is for services, not research. Finally, monitoring health is a core function of the public health department. This includes analyzing trends, needs, etc. and sharing the information broadly. Public Health and others use this data to allocate resources, plan new programs, or assess results. For examples, visit our HIP (Health Improvement Plan) website: <a href="http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/public_health/hip/Presentations" rel='nofollow'>http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/public_health/hip/Presentations</a>. Or visit the Public Health homepage: <a href="http://publichealth.ewashtenaw.org" rel='nofollow'>http://publichealth.ewashtenaw.org</a> - Susan Cerniglia, Washtenaw County Public Health
jcj
Fri, Jan 21, 2011 : 2:33 p.m.
I don't see anything wrong with asking for evidence that a particular program is working before patting them on the back. It does not matter where the funds come from.
KeepingItReal
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 9:33 p.m.
@John B: I'm sorry that you have chosen to respond as you have. Of Course, the Kresge Foundation is free to donate its money wherever it wants to and for whatever cause. However, the County as a Tax supported organization funded by the citizens of this community is accountable to it's citizens whether you agreed with it or not. I support healthier choices for people but have you ever tried to shop at a place that may not be so friendly to "low income" people? Sure this community makes a big production about feeding people and I'm proud to say that I have participated in these efforts, but that's really not what's it's about. I think a better alternative would be to help people understand the production and preservation of foods they can consume even during the winter months.
say it plain
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 8:41 p.m.
@John B., I understand your point about foods at the Farmer's Market being fresher, but we're not talking about finding the absolute freshest romaine lettuce, for example...we're talking about getting people to make healthier food choices, like eating lettuces instead of canned greens with lots of sodium added. I'm not complaining about the idea of connecting people to farmer's markets--I just find that I can sometimes splurge on the freshest possible greens and fruits at farmer's markets, but that often it is more expensive *by far* than to shop at Krogers. Indeed, this time of year doesn't allow for 'fresh' berries for example at the farmer's markets, and we can consider the value or 'problem' with importing blueberries from chile this time of year, or from california and florida, but that's a different issue than trying to encourage healthy-food habits and purchases for people, isn't it?! Also, Krogers and other supermarkets can be encouraged--and if you ever shop at such places you might notice the increased appearance of "locally grown" signage at times of year when that is possible!--to stock locally grown produce. Furthermore, if my purveyors of 'locally grown' produce are using the same pesticides that are being applied at larger-scale or farther-away farms, I'm not that much more excited about supporting them. And yet furthermore, lol, flash-frozen veggies are typically even *more* fresh than the stuff you can get from even 15 miles away, so perhaps if maximal freshness is all that we're concerned about, we should be offering extra currency useable for organic frozen veggies--they have good prices on those at trader joe's!
John B.
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 8 p.m.
Wow, so much complaining. The Kresge Foundation will choose to donate where it feels it will do the most good overall. They really aren't directly accountable to you or I. These aren't Taxpayer-funded grants. We have a pretty good track record in Washtenaw County of providing food for folks that need it, in cost-effective and innovative ways. Last time I looked, Food Gatherers was ranked the #1 food bank in the entire nation, for example.
KeepingItReal
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 7:35 p.m.
The Washtenaw County Health Department has done an excellent job over the years of coming up with various initiatives to improve the health outcomes of low income residents in our county, yet there has never been any accountability as to whether these initiatives have proven to be effective. I question why organizations such as the Kresge Foundation would continue to fund initiatives where there is absolutely no proof of success. I also question why our community has not publicly challenged the county to present proof of their efforts. It sound very good when these initiatives are announced but little beyond that happens.
say it plain
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 6:57 p.m.
Great idea to support healthy eating in low-income shoppers, but I'd love to see a good visual representation of recipients and food resources. Are farmers' markets really closer than krogers? Because Krogers stores often have very acceptable and affordable produce. If the choice is between farmers markets and corner convenience stores then of course the farmers markets make sense. But is this just a way to supplement programs like foodstamps which doesn't distinguish between sales of processed foods and fresh healthier ones, or genuinely stemming from geographic issues? If there would be some way to encourage purchasing of healthier foods *in the same shopping venues* as program-participants already visit, then wouldn't that be 'better'?
John B.
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 7:44 p.m.
The 'fresh' foods at Kroger have traveled an average of 1500 miles to get there (and probably farther than that at this time of year). The items at the Farmers' Market have traveled more like an average of fifteen miles and are typically many days fresher.....
jcj
Thu, Jan 20, 2011 : 5:49 p.m.
Any kind of breakdown on where the $294,000 goes? And what it pays for? Wooden nickels?