Several studies and community needs assessments show that diet-related health conditions are more prevalent in low-income minority populations

These health disparities among low-income populations can be attributed to food insecurity, a lack of knowledge about how to eat and cook healthy, and unhealthy food behaviors as a response to stress or trauma, among other factors. Higher rates of chronic disease contribute to decreased quality and length of life, increase financial burden on the individual, and well as high healthcare costs. By increasing access to and consumption of healthy food among low-income populations, this project directly addresses the need for preventative solutions that address the root causes of these health disparities. Farmers markets provide an outlet for accessing healthy, local foods, but may not be utilized by low-income minority populations due to lack of awareness, perceptions of high cost, lack of awareness about financial incentive programs, or feeling unwelcome. The increased awareness built by this project around farmers' markets, snap use, and financial incentives will show ripple and lasting effects in other regional snap communities by enhancing the demand for locally produced food and increasing the number of low-income shoppers at farmers' markets to create sustained impacts after this project ends. This project will work directly with healthcare providers to address root causes of health disparities in their most vulnerable patients. In partnership with the ravenswood family health center in east palo alto (CA), pediatric and adult patients who have been screened for food insecurity and diet-related health disorders will be enrolled in this project. The project is administered in a series of 16 weeks and there will be four series, each with 15 participants. Each series will consist of at least two health screenings and eight trauma-informed nutrition and cooking group sessions. Participants will receive food prescription vouchers with each visit, redeemable for fruits and vegetables at the nextdoor east palo alto community farmers' market, a snap authorized firm that is operated by fresh approach, as well as other snap authorized regional farmers' markets, ensuring maximum accessibility. The vouchers provide increased financial access for low-income patients to implement the healthy behaviors discussed in the series, impacting their food security status and fruit and vegetable consumption. The proposed project will contribute to removing barriers to a healthy diet faced by pediatric and adult patients experiencing chronic or acute food insecurity and empower them with appropriate knowledge and resources. By enhancing access to fruits and vegetables and knowledge about nutrition and cooking, this project aims to increase food security and improve health outcomes among community members from predominantly-lower socioeconomic status.