Doctors Prescribing Produce
August 16, 2010 Some doctors in Massachusetts are participating in a pilot project to advise patients to eat “prescription produce” from area farmers markets. The aim is to help fight obesity in children, specifically among low-income families. The doctors are distributing coupons amounting to $1 per day for each family member, the New York Times recently reported.
The project plans to enroll as many as 50 families of four at three health centers in Massachusetts that have specialized healthy weight clinics for children. If the project is successful, the hope is that farmers markets would become fruit and vegetable pharmacies of sorts.
The clinics that are administering the project are sponsored by a foundation called Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited (CAVU). The program is slated to run through the end of farmers market season.