Fruit & Vegetable Voucher Program

 

 

The Swetland Center will be responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating the five strategies related to capacity building to expand and sustain fruit and vegetable voucher and prescription programs to reduce diet-related health disparities among those at the highest risk or burden of chronic disease in Cuyahoga county.

 

 

The strategies include:

  • Strategy 1: Using the FM Engage app, expand communication campaigns for FV incentive programs (i.e., Produce Perks) to increase their reach among those at the highest risk or burden of chronic diseases in families with children. (Years 1-5)
  • Strategy 2: Use the Nourishing Power Fellowship approach to engage local food justice leaders ensuring FV prescription are tailored to increase reach among those at the highest risk or burden of chronic diseases. (Years 1-3)
  • Strategy 3: Leverage the farming network and local food hub networks by connecting FV prescription programs to local food sources, including farmers and food business owners and others representing SDGs. (Years 1-5)
  • Strategy 4: Leverage statewide and local grant and funding expertise, help local FV prescription program providers identify funding sources for developing and implementing programming (i.e., funds to buy produce or support nutrition education). (Years 1-5)
  • Strategy 5: Work with Nutrition Committee of HIP-Cuyahoga and other local food policy coalitions to support and sustain FV prescription programming in Cuyahoga County. (Years 1-5)

 

The Swetland Center will be responsible for managing these programs based on the following outcomes:

  • Short-term: Increase access to healthier foods through promotion of FV incentives available at food retailers and farmers markets and through implementation of FV prescriptions within healthcare.
  • Intermediate: Increase the number of people in our county who are using FV incentives and FV prescriptions and the number of clinical sites prescribing FV prescriptions.
  • Long-term: Improve health behaviors (i.e., healthier food consumption) and reduce diet related health disparities (i.e., diabetes, obesity) among those at the highest risk or burden of chronic disease in Cuyahoga County.