What We Do
Our Food is Medicine team operates an integrated network of food security programs including nutrition incentives, produce prescription, and technical assistance for CalAim medically supportive food and nutrition services. These programs recognize the critical relationship between food and health, and ensure access to healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables. A key element of this work is the program integration, coordination, and leveraging of resources among stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system and health system to collectively improve healthy food access, food security, and the nutrition and health status of participating households.
Our Food is Medicine programs are funded by: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Department of Social Services (CDSS), California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), and other organizations.
Our Programs
1. ¡Más Fresco! More Fresh Nutrition Incentive Program
In collaboration with Northgate Gonzalez Market and UC San Diego’s Department of Pediatrics, we developed and implemented a state-of-the-art loyalty-based nutrition incentive program that provides CalFresh recipients with the ability to instantaneously earn and redeem nutrition incentives upon the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables with their CalFresh benefits. Learn more.
Contact: [email protected] or 888-282-2711
2. ¡Más Fresco! Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FV Rx) Program
In partnership with the Rady Children’s Hospital Diabetes Clinic and Northgate Gonzalez Market, and UC San Diego’s Department of Pediatrics, we developed this program which aims to assess the effect of produce prescriptions on fruit and vegetable consumption, food security, and key health metrics (e.g., hemoglobin A1c) among families of children with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.
Contact: [email protected] or 858-576-1700 Extension 221857
3. Community-Centered Approach to Produce Delivery Program and Food as Medicine
In partnership with Family Health Centers of San Diego, this program provides community members with 12-months of home delivered farm-fresh produce boxes, to be followed by 6-months of CalAIM Medically Tailored Meals.
Contact: Joe Prickitt, [email protected] and Trixy Manansala, [email protected]
4. ¡Más Fresco! Plus
In collaboration with community-based organizations, health clinics, farm and food sector partners across San Diego County, this program provides nutrition incentives to community members experiencing health disparities, including food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Learn more.
Contact: [email protected] or 888-315-6602
5. CalFresh Fruit & Vegetable EBT Pilot Project
The CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project is a successful nutrition incentive program in California that reduced hunger, improved health, and supported the agricultural economy. It first ran from February 2023 to April 2024 and was administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and implemented across various counties in California. We are the grantee for the pilot project’s implementation in Southern California.
For every $1 of CalFresh EBT that participants spent on fresh fruits and vegetables at any Mother’s Nutritional Center, they automatically received $1 back on their CalFresh EBT card (up to $60 per month) that they could then spend or redeem on any CalFresh EBT-eligible food at any EBT authorized retailer.
We significantly contributed to the statewide success of the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project with the collaboration of several, diverse partners, and through the implementation of numerous outreach efforts.
The statewide pilot project implementation resulted in:
- Providing $10.5 million in nutrition incentive dollars to 93,000 households – comprising roughly 159,000 individuals – across 44 of California’s 58 counties.
- Providing a total of $2.5 million per month at 90 grocery stores and farmers’ markets across California (79 of the grocery stores were Mother’s Nutritional Center stores – the retail partner for UC San Diego Center for Community Health).
- Developing and refining a scalable model for the earning and redeeming of nutrition incentives that can easily be adopted by USDA FNS authorized retailers across the United States.
As a result of the outstanding success of the pilot project, the California legislature and governor approved in June 2024 an additional $10 million for its continuation.
Contact: [email protected]
6. CalAIM Food is Medicine Support
In 2023, we became a California DHCS Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Technical Assistance and Training Provider under CalAIM. We also established and co-facilitate a local Food is Medicine workgroup bringing together community organizations and other key stakeholders involved or interested in supporting the success of CalAIM across San Diego County.
Contact: Trixy Manansala, [email protected]
