A new partnership between a Bowling Green health care provider and local farmers is getting fresh produce in the hands of low-income patients with chronic medical conditions.
Under a program called Farmacy, some patients at Fairview Community Health Center will get a prescription for free fresh fruits and vegetables at one of the local farmers markets.
To be eligible, patients' income must fall below 100 percent of the federal poverty level and they must have at least one of the following conditions: diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
This program is not just focused on the patient, but their household to try to promote the benefit of fresh fruits and vegetables to the entire family," said Chris Keyser, executive director of Fairview Community Health Center.
The program is funded through WellCare, one of the state’s Medicaid managed care organizations. About 78 percent of the patients at Fairview Community Health Center are on Medicaid.
The initiative started in eastern Kentucky and more than 130 families benefited from it last year, resulting in weight loss and other health improvements.
Bowling Green’s program runs from July to September. Prescriptions in the form of vouchers can be used at the Community Farmers Market on Nashville Road.
