• Patients of the program will receive six home deliveries of seasonal, fresh produce
• The program provides patients with the tools to make healthy lifestyle changes, including access to plant-based diet resources and one-on-one counseling

NEW YORK (TIP): NYC Health + Hospitals announced on August 31 the launch of free produce boxes to patients enrolled in its nationally recognized Lifestyle Medicine Program. Patients of the program will receive six free monthly deliveries of seasonal, fresh produce delivered to their home. Patients will work with dietitians to learn about incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet across culinary traditions and skill levels. Delicious and healthy recipes developed by the team’s dietitians will accompany each produce box. A recent produce box included broccoli, bok choy, tomatoes, potatoes, peaches, and fennel. The majority of the produce is sourced from local or regional farms, and the boxes are packaged and delivered by Farm to People.

The Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals is a nine-month program to support patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including a healthful plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress reduction, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults living with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or health concerns related to excess weight are eligible to enroll. The program is now available at seven sites and can serve approximately 4,000 patients each year. The care team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, a certified nurse midwife (Woodhull location), a dietitian, a health coach, a program coordinator, a psychologist, community health workers, and an exercise trainer. Current patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can get a referral to the program from their provider, and people who are not yet patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can see if they qualify to enroll in the program by contacting 347-507-3695.

“I know first-hand how important a good, affordable diet is for long-term health,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “By delivering free, healthy, monthly produce boxes to patients in our city’s Lifestyle Medicine Program, we will be able to help even more New Yorkers access fresh fruits and vegetables, combat chronic disease, and lead happier, healthier lives.”

“Treating and preventing chronic disease starts with putting fresh, nutritious foods on our plates,” said Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “By partnering with Farm to People to provide patients enrolled in lifestyle medicine programs with fresh produce boxes, we aim to remove some of the barriers these patients face in sourcing nutritious foods. Thanks to this partnership, patients will be able to fully take advantage of the program’s benefits, including incorporating nutritionist-recommended meals into their diets.”

“We want to inspire our patients to add more produce to their plates in ways that are flavorful, nourishing, and culturally relevant,” said Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DipABLM, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals. “The patients in our Lifestyle Medicine Program can now receive free boxes of produce delivered to their homes, making it easier to access high-quality fruits and vegetables and apply the lessons learned during the program’s nutrition education and counseling.”

“We’re thrilled to work with NYC Health + Hospitals on such a transformative program,” said Farm to People Chief Operating Officer Felix Dechant. “Our mission at Farm to People has always been to conveniently provide the highest quality food to our community. This program couldn’t be more aligned with our core values. Our entire team is laser-focused on providing exceptional service to every patient: from our sourcing team working with sustainable farms on offering the freshest nutrient-dense produce, to our warehouse team packing each box with recipes tailored to the box contents and language of the participants, to our fleet of drivers delivering across all five boroughs just a few hours after the boxes have been packed. Everyone at Farm to People understands the importance of this work, and plays a key role in exceeding expectations with every delivery. We hope that our work will make this program convenient, healthy, and delicious for every patient.”

The nine-month lifestyle medicine program provides every patient with the following resources:

Six to nine one-on-one counseling sessions: Patients will have two to three visits each with a physician, nurse practitioner or certified nurse midwife, a dietitian, and a health coach to develop and implement a personalized care plan.

14 weekly group classes: Topics will include reading nutrition labels, grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation, and sleep and stress management techniques.

Eight weekly exercise classes: Patients will work with an exercise trainer and take home a resistance band for strength training. Six free, monthly deliveries of seasonal fresh produce: Patients will work with dietitians to learn about incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet across culinary traditions and skill levels. Delicious and healthy recipes developed by the team’s dietitians will accompany each produce box.

Health Bucks. Patients will have access to Health Bucks, which are $2 coupons that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at NYC farmers markets. Five of the seven program sites have farmers’ markets on their campus.

Culinary skills videos. Patients can learn cooking skills through short videos developed by the Lifestyle Medicine team in partnership with an online culinary school, Rouxbe. The videos will feature healthy cooking across various culinary traditions, including Caribbean, South American, Central American, and South Asian, and will be translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali, and Haitian Creole.

A plant-based cookbook: Each patient receives a cookbook on plant-based eating for overall health or specifically for type 2 diabetes.

Support accessing benefits: Community health workers and food navigator referrals help patients access free or low-cost nutrition resources and, for those eligible, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The Lifestyle Medicine Program is now available at the following sites:

Bronx

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln

Brooklyn

NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County

NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

Manhattan

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

Queens

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

Staten Island

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt

Particular attention has been placed on ensuring that the program’s group visit curriculum is relevant for patients from diverse backgrounds and experiences. For example, the Spanish-language curriculum reflects cultural adaptations, not simply a translation of the English-language version. Moreover, individual visits with the medical providers, dietitian, and health coach allow for tailored behavior change recommendations based on each patient’s social, financial, cultural, and family context.

Formal evaluations of the Bellevue pilot program revealed a successful implementation process, extremely high demand for services (more than 850 patients requested to enroll in the first few months), and positive health outcomes including clinically and statistically significant improvements in weight, glycemic control, and diastolic blood pressure.