Submitted by Krystal Moyers, Director of Community Outreach, Augusta Health
The AMI Farm at Augusta Health is a partnership between Allegheny Mountain Institute and Augusta Health to improve the wellbeing of Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro residents through increased knowledge about and access to healthy foods. One of the unique ways we are achieving this goal is through a Food Farmacy prescription produce program. The Food Farmacy is a physician referral program for type 2 diabetic patients with an A1C greater than 7.5 percent. The next cohort will begin on May 16th and referrals are now being accepted. The program is twelve weeks long and involves nutrition education provided by a physician and registered dietitian, cooking demonstration and tasting by a professional chef, and free take-home produce. The produce is harvested from the farm the day of the class and participants receive recipe cards to use when preparing the food. Blood draws and biometrics are collected at the first and last class in order to measure the health impact of the program. A follow-up participant report will be sent to each referring provider. 2018 participants saw a significant decrease in A1C, BMI, and waist circumference, as well as an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption and greater knowledge of healthy eating habits.
If you are an AMG provider, patient referrals can be sent through Athena. Within a patient encounter select the order set ‘food farmacy’ under the available order sets.
For more information or questions, please contact Krystal Moyers at (540) 332-4976 or kmoyers@augustahealth.com.