Many people in our communities face chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity

Desert Mission Inc. received a $483,000 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (CFDA 10.331) on September 15, 2025. The HonorHealth Desert Mission Produce Prescription Program (HHDM PPR) delivers produce credits to eligible patients at HonorHealth Medical Group clinics in Phoenix, Arizona, enabling them to redeem monthly incentives for fresh fruits and vegetables at mobile farm stands. Over the three-year performance period (September 2025 through September 2028), participants receive coordinated nutrition education and support from healthcare providers integrated with their produce access, creating a clinical-community partnership model.

The program generates measurable health and economic outcomes by tracking participant changes in health status, food security, and healthcare utilization to evaluate the intervention's effectiveness in addressing chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. This produce prescription initiative exemplifies GusNIP's "triple-bottom-line" approach by simultaneously improving individual food security, increasing dietary quality through enhanced produce consumption, and reducing healthcare costs. The program is designed to serve as a replicable model for other communities seeking to integrate healthcare delivery with food access interventions targeting low-income populations and food-insecure individuals.

These conditions are often worsened by limited access to healthy food. The honorhealth desert mission produce prescription program (hhdm PPR) aims to address this issue by connecting healthcare with access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Through this program, eligible patients at honorhealth medical group clinics will receive monthly produce credits to redeem for fresh fruits and vegetables at mobile farm stands, helping them make healthier food choices.over six months, participants will receive nutrition education and support from their healthcare providers along with their produce credits. The program will track changes in participants' health, food security, and healthcare use to understand its impact. By combining medical care with access to nutritious food and education, the hhdm PPR hopes to improve health outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and offer a model that can be adapted by other communities. This project has the potential to benefit individuals, families, and the broader public by promoting healthier lifestyles and reducing the burden of chronic disease.