The James C. Kennedy Wellness Center in Charleston has a new food prescription program called Food as Medicine, where free produce will be provided to eligible Charleston residents on a weekly basis.
The purpose of the program is to get fresh produce into the hands of those who need it most. Food can truly be our greatest form of medicine or a slow form of poison.
This program is a great opportunity for community members to learn how to use food as medicine to heal their bodies, increase energy levels and improve overall quality of life. In addition to produce, a healthy, delicious, easy and affordable recipe of the week will be provided to all participants. There is no cost to join this program.
Program participants will be recruited through the Charleston Rural Health Clinic where health care providers will give their patients food prescriptions to be filled at the garden as well as through other community groups and organizations.
To be eligible for the program, participants must have an annual household income of less than $40,000 or an individual income of less than $20,000, or have two or more chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, cancer, pain and/or heart disease.
To sign up for the program, interested individuals need to call the Wellness Center. Clinic patients can also ask their health care providers for a prescription during their next clinic visit.
Once registered, each person will be assigned a day and time to come to the Wellness Garden located at 460 S. Panola St. in Charleston to pick a bag of fresh produce. This is a “you pick” program, where each person is responsible for picking their desired produce.
The availability of produce will change depending on what is ready to be harvested each week. Each person will be given a large brown paper bag and can pick whatever they like until their bag is full.
Garden produce includes assorted peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, assorted peppers and okra. The program will continue into the fall. Fall produce will include pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, greens, assorted beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, spinach and kale.
The Wellness Center’s Food as Medicine program was made possible by a generous donation from James C. Kennedy.
For more information or to sign up, call the Wellness Center at 662-625-7214.
Catherine Moring is executive director of the James C. Kennedy Wellness Center.
