Food Rx: A Community–University Partnership to Prescribe Healthy Eating on the South Side of Chicago
Open accessAbstract
Patients living with diabetes in underserved communities face significant challenges to healthy eating. To support them, we need interventions that integrate community resources into the healthcare setting. A "prescription" for healthy food may be a promising platform for such a community-linked intervention: it can promote behavior change, provide nutrition education, include financial incentives, and connect patients to local resources. We describe Food Rx, a food prescription collaboratively developed by a university research team, Walgreens, a local farmers market, and six health centers on the South Side of Chicago. We share preliminary lessons learned from implementation, highlighting how each stakeholder (university, community partners, and clinics) contributed to this multifaceted effort while meeting research standards, organizational priorities, and clinic workflow demands. Although implementation is in early stages, Food Rx shows promise as a model for integrating community and healthcare resources to support the health of underserved patients.
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The movement toward value-based care has accelerated the focus of physicians and hospitals on population and whole-person health by incentivizing them to address needs that may be outside of traditional clinical care yet associated with health spending.
“Despite these challenges, the movement toward value-based care has accelerated the focus of physicians and hospitals on population and whole-person health by incentivizing physicians and hospitals to address needs that may be outside of traditional clinical care yet associated with health spending.3,12”
From Prevalence of Screening for Food Insecurity, Housing Instability, Utility Needs, Transportation Needs, and Interpersonal Violence by US Physician Practices and Hospitals (2019) · cites this paper as [3]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe association of patients' social needs with health outcomes and costs is increasingly recognized by the medical community.
“The association of patients’ social needs, such as food insecurity, housing instability, utility needs, transportation needs, and experience with interpersonal violence, with health outcomes and costs is increasingly recognized by the medical community”
From Prevalence of Screening for Food Insecurity, Housing Instability, Utility Needs, Transportation Needs, and Interpersonal Violence by US Physician Practices and Hospitals (2019) · cites this paper as [3]
The paper’s Abstract links access to affordable healthy food with diabetes management, and its Conclusion describes a health-care partnership addressing that need. It does not address housing, utilities, transportation, or interpersonal violence, or link social needs to health-care costs. The broader claim about growing recognition across the medical community is not established by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAn increasing amount of evidence documents that physician- and hospital-led interventions addressing patients' social needs can produce improved health outcomes and less costly medical care.
“an increasing amount of evidence documents that physician- and hospital-led interventions addressing patients’ social needs can produce improved health outcomes and less costly medical care.3,4,5,6”
From Prevalence of Screening for Food Insecurity, Housing Instability, Utility Needs, Transportation Needs, and Interpersonal Violence by US Physician Practices and Hospitals (2019) · cites this paper as [3]
The Abstract describes Food Rx as a physician-prescribed intervention linking patients to community food resources, and the Conclusion says it may support health in underserved communities. But the paper reports only early, largely anecdotal findings; it does not document improved patient health outcomes or less costly medical care. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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References 12 · Cited by 84
Research works printed but not linked: 9
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- Fuscaldo JM Prescribing physical activity in primary care The West Virginia Medical Journal 2002 98 6 250 253 12645276
- Glanz K Sallis JF Saelens BE Frank LD Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in stores (NEMS-S): development and evaluation American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2007 32 4 282 289 17383559
- Hager ER Quigg AM Black MM Coleman SM Heeren T Rose-Jacobs R Frank DA Development and validity of a 2-item screen to identify families at risk for food insecurity Pediatrics 2010 126 1 e26 e32 20595453
- Hinchman J Beno L Dennison D Trowbridge F Evaluation of a training to improve management of pediatric overweight The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions 2005 25 4 259 267 16365901
- Kelleher K Prescribing exercise for the adult with diabetes Nurse Practitioner Forum 1991 2 3 163 165 1840968
- Leijon ME Bendtsen P Nilsen P Ekberg K Stahle A Physical activity referrals in Swedish primary health care - prescriber and patient characteristics, reasons for prescriptions, and prescribed activities BMC Health Services Research 2008 8 201 18828898 PMC2567971
- Peek ME Wilkes AE Roberson TS Goddu AP Nocon RS Tang H Chin MH Early lessons from an initiative on Chicago's South Side to reduce disparities in diabetes care and outcomes Health Affairs 2012 31 1 177 186 22232108 PMC3697906
- Philips BU Longoria JM Calhoun KH Bates DF Behavioral prescription writing in smoking cessation counseling: a new use for a familiar tool Southern Medical Journal 1989 82 8 946 953 2762901
- Authors
- Goddu, A. P., Roberson, T. S., Raffel, K. E., Chin, M. H., & Peek, M. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Peek, Monica E.
- Venue
- Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-04-03
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 148-162
- ISSN
- 0270-3114 (ISSN-L)
- 1085-2352
- 1540-7330
- PMC
- PMC4416784
- OpenAlex
- W2092480195
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 12.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- This research was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (R18 DK083946)
- the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research (P30 DK092949)
- and the Alliance to Reduce Disparities in Diabetes of the Merck Company Foundation. Marshall Chin is supported by an NIDDK Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24 DK071933)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Community Health and Development
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Education
- Keywords
- food prescriptions, university-community collaboration, diabetes mellitus, healthy eating, nutrition education, financial incentives, farmers' markets, health centers, underserved populations, implementation, stakeholder collaboration, Chicago South Side
- MeSH terms
- Chicago, Community-Institutional Relations, Cooperative Behavior, Diabetes Mellitus, Diet, Eating, Health Promotion, Humans, Universities, Program Evaluation, Program Development
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