Researchers measured the success of a community health intervention.

Yield: The Veggie Rx program at Penn State Health St. Joseph Downtown Campus.

It began in 2018 when the United Way of Berks County helped Lisa Weaver, a healthy community program associate with Penn State Berks LaunchBox, and a team of clinicians from Penn State Health St. Joseph and students from Penn State Berks launch a pilot program through which patients with chronic obesity and diabetes were offered vouchers as a way to improve their access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

«Community members who seek care at our downtown campus may not have easy access to produce for one reason or another,» Weaver said. «Our goal is to provide patients with resources to find nutrition that might help them live a healthier life, and ultimately lead to improved health outcomes and decreased health care costs.»

A passion for produce

Weaver and her colleagues teamed up with Susan Veldheer and other researchers from Penn State College of Medicine to analyze the pilot program data and figure out if the program was achieving its intended goals.

Story Source:
Materials provided by Penn State. Original written by Zachary Sweger. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.