Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx)

The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx) fosters partnerships between healthcare providers and organizations working with farm-to-market retail venues to measure the health effects of increased consumption of fresh produce. The goal is to improve health outcomes by providing community members at-risk for diet-related diseases (such as diabetes and obesity) with the resources to increase consumption of fresh, locally grown produce.

FVRx is designed to provide direct economic benefits to small and midsize farms and to bring additional resources into the local economies of underserved communities. Fruit and vegetable prescriptions are distributed by community healthcare providers and redeemed at participating farmers markets for fresh fruits and vegetables. Each dollar invested in the Family FVRx program pays forward threefold by nourishing the consumer, boosting the farmer’s revenues and uplifting the community as a whole.

Healthcare providers and farmers market partners work together to identify and enroll program participants, disburse and redeem prescriptions, collect data on consumer participation and health, and add a wealth of knowledge to the FVRx learning community through active engagement. FVRx strives to create strong and lasting connections between under-invested neighborhoods, healthcare providers, small to midsize farms and local change makers through innovative, collaborative programming.