Field Notes: Allowing Pharmacists To “Prescribe” Produce To Help Lower Blood Pressure

Allowing Pharmacists To “Prescribe” Produce To Help Lower Blood Pressure

September 24, 2019

Having high blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, but eating fruits and vegetables every day can help lower that risk. In New York City, 1 in 4 adults have high blood pressure and 1 in 5 receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Knowing that many of their residents with high blood pressure could not afford healthy produce, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) expanded their successful farmer’s market Health Bucks program to allow pharmacists to “prescribe” fruits and vegetables to SNAP recipients who have high blood pressure. Health Bucks are $2 coupons that can be used to purchase produce at a nearby farmers market.

Through the Pharmacy to Farm Prescriptions program, pharmacists can issue $30 a month in Health Bucks to SNAP recipients who come into their pharmacy to fill a doctor’s prescription for high blood pressure medication. And it’s making a difference—pharmacy staff have reported that patients tell them they are trying new produce and shopping at farmers markets for the first time as a result of program participation. The program, piloted in 2017 at 3 pharmacies and increased to 10 pharmacies in 2018, recently was expanded to 16 drugstores. Health Bucks can be used at 142 farmers markets across the five boroughs to buy fruits and vegetables. Sixty percent of New York City’s farmers markets are located in high-poverty neighborhoods, helping ensure that all New Yorkers—regardless of income—have access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

For more information about this initiative and to read other highlights from the field, visit Field Notes on CDC’s Public Health Professionals Gateway.