P85 Preliminary Evaluation of the 2018 Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program

Objective To determine the impact of the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) program supplemented with education related to nutrition, cooking skills, and food resource management on nutrition behaviors and related clinical outcomes. Use of Theory or Research Prior research shows that food insecurity is associated with the development of chronic conditions. In addition to providing access to healthy foods, this program was designed to improve cooking skills and food resource management skills based on Social Cognitive Theory. Target Audience This intervention targeted low-income, food insecure adults receiving primary care from one of four urban clinics in the Southeast (n = 113). Program Description Participants received FVRx equal to $1/day for each participant and household member. Monthly clinic visits included nutrition education and individualized goal setting. Participants were offered six weekly Cooking Matters courses. Evaluation Methods Participants completed surveys at baseline and at the end of the Cooking Matters classes. Clinical outcomes were collected at monthly clinic visits. Analyses were conducted for participants with data at both time points using either Wilcoxon signed rank test for ordinal count data, paired t-test for continuous data, or longitudinal adjusted statistical modeling for clinical outcomes. Results Food insecurity scores declined by -0.24 (95% confidence interval -0.45, -0.03). The frequency in which participants reported being confident in basic cooking skills increased by 13.0% (95% confidence interval 5.3%, 20.7%) and being confident in purchasing healthy foods for their families on a budget increased by 15.6% (95% confidence interval 4.5%, 26.7%). The scores for frequency of consumption increased by 0.3 for non-starchy vegetables (95% confidence interval 0.1, 0.6). BMI decreased by -0.07 (95% confidence interval -0.14, -0.10), diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) decreased by -1.85 (95% confidence interval -3.00, -0.71), and hemoglobin A1C decreased by -0.15 (95% confidence interval -0.30, 0.00). Conclusions This study demonstrated that a FVRx program supplemented with nutrition education improved nutrition behaviors and clinical outcomes. Funding SNAP-Ed, Open Hand Atlanta, Wholesome Wave Georgia, The Common Market, Grady Health System.