What is Food Rx at Harris Health?- Harris Health’s Food Rx Program promotes patient well-being through food security, nutritional knowledge and culinary skills and education, which are all areas of need among many patients served by Harris Health.
- Food Rx is for Harris Health patients who are food insecure and have a chronic medical condition like type 2 diabetes. Under the care of a healthcare provider, a patient receives a prescription for nutritious foods along with individual health education and counseling. Food Rx provides patients with access to nutritious foods to improve their health outcomes.
How do I take part in Food Rx?
- To participate, your Harris Health provider will determine if you could benefit from the program. If so, you will be referred to Food Rx during your visit. Once you obtain a referral, please call 713-982-5127 to schedule an appointment.
Where does the Food Rx food come from?
- Most of the food in Harris Health’s Food Rx is provided by the Houston Food Bank, through its Food for Change market initiative. Harris Health also purchases food from various produce distributors to ensure nutritional variety and receives produce grown at Harris Health’s Community Farm Program.
What Food Rx modalities does Harris Health have?
- Harris Health currently offers three types of Food Rx modalities: Food Farmacies, Community Redemption Sites and Food Lockers.
What is a Food Farmacy?
- A Food Farmacy is an onsite store-like location within our facilities or through a neighboring collaborative where Harris Health patients receive food items such as fruits, vegetables and proteins. Additionally, these are sites where patients interact with staff to learn about the relationship between diet and health at their established medical home.
What is Community Redemption?
- Community Redemption is a Food for Change market and Harris Health partner near the patient’s established medical home. Harris Health collaborates closely with this community partner to provide healthy food and nutrition education for Harris Health patients.
What is a Food Locker?
- Harris Health’s Food Lockers are a secure, self-service kiosk located in accessible areas where patients can pick up their food, primarily fruits and vegetables. Food Lockers ensure patients receive their food in a timely manner while allowing flexibility in their schedule.
Are Food Rx locations food pantries?
- Food Rx location are not community food pantries and do not sell food. If you are in immediate need of food assistance, please reach out to the following resources:
- Houston Food Bank Client Assistance Program (CAP) Navigator: Receive assistance with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applications. Please call 832-369-9390 to connect with a CAP Navigator.
- Houston Food Bank: Call 832-369-9390 to find the nearest community food pantry location.
- Harris Health Care Management: See the front desk to speak with staff for additional assistance and information on other programs. Appointments are not required. Care Management staff is available Monday through Friday.
What does it mean to be a Food Rx patient?
- Food Rx patients have food security needs and have a diabetes diagnosis with an A1C level of at least 7%. Food Rx patients can visit their Food Farmacy or community redemption site up to every two to three weeks for a duration of 18 visits (approximately six to nine months). Patients will receive coupled disease management education from a registered dietitian and a nurse patient educator.
What does it mean to be a First Link patient?
- First Link patients are those who have food security needs, but do not meet Harris Health’s Food Rx clinical requirements. First Link patients receive a one-time visit to a Food Farmacy for food and nutrition education or a connection to community food resources. These patients are also connected to a Houston Food Bank client assistance program navigator for additional food assistance.
What is a Community Health Worker (CHW)?
- A Community Health Worker (CHW), or ‘Promotor(a) de Salud’ in Spanish, is a non-clinical public health liaison who connects patients to healthcare and social services. CHWs are the face of Food Rx and assist patients with program enrollment, navigation to other programs within Harris Health, and connections to outside resources as needed. They also provide nutrition education basics, assist with food deliveries, and maintain food safety standards within our Food Rx Program.
What is a Registered Dietitian (RD)?
- A registered dietitian (RD) helps patients understand the relationship between food and their overall health. RDs work with Food Rx patients to determine which foods have the biggest impact on blood sugars, the right amount of carbohydrates to eat for meals and snacks, and provide helpful tips for adding nutrition to a variety of cultural and familiar dishes. They also lead Harris Health’s Culinary Medicine Program, which helps build cooking skills in addition to nutrition knowledge.
What is a Nurse Patient Educator?
- A nurse patient educator helps patients understand how diabetes affects their bodies. Nurse patient educators discuss:
- Medication management
- The impact of high and low blood sugars and how to manage them
- Understanding A1C levels
- Healthy lifestyle changes, such as physical activity and exercise