Session Proposals - Nutrition Incentive Convening
January 18th - 20, 2022 is the National Convening (virtually) for SNAP incentives and produce prescriptions. The convening will be free. The deadline for session proposals is Tuesday, November 30th at midnight. The call for proposals found here.
A Produce Prescription is defined as:
A medical treatment or preventative service for patients who are eligible due to diet-related health risk or condition, food insecurity or other documented challenges in access to nutritious foods, and are referred by a healthcare provider or health insurance plan. These prescriptions are fulfilled through food retail and enable patients to access healthy produce with no added fats, sugars, or salt, at low or no cost to the patient. When appropriately dosed, Produce Prescription Programs are designed to improve healthcare outcomes, optimize medical spending, and increase patient engagement and satisfaction.
National Produce Prescription Collaborative, March 2021
When we look at models for moving food coverage into a health care payment structure, the two main options under consideration nationally are Medically Tailored Meals and Produce Prescriptions (this isn't a competition between the two, they're generally used in different circumstances). In this context Produce Prescriptions are usually tied to clinical indicators of risk for specific conditions or treatment for existing conditions. Examples of chronic illnesses considered eligible for produce prescriptions in Medicare Advantage plans through a 2018 benefit expansion include coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic heart failure, and end-stage renal disease.
The Mainstreaming Produce Prescriptions initiative considers options for sustainable health care reimbursement for Produce Prescriptions programs and has several recent (Summer 2021) reports. There is also an emerging field of purchasing systems that allow for integration into clinical use, such as Fresh Connect (an enterprise of About Fresh, member of the Massachusetts Food Is Medicine coalition). Technology will be one of the January convening topics.
Produce Prescriptions are also used in general prevention and community health programs. They are often supported through the GusNIP program in USDA. This program connects incentives designed to encourage fresh produce purchases as part of SNAP, increased purchasing of local foods, and research into best practices for improving the overall nutrition for low-income households. Increasingly there are calls for USDA to move from viewing produce and healthy food access as specialty projects and instead integrating them into a core function of nutrition security.
Key national programs to support Produce Prescription implementation include:
GusNIP Training & Technical Assistance (resources available to the public, not only grant recipients), housed at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition
Fair Food Network – includes a local food focus