from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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Produce prescription programs are an emerging strategy for making diet and nutrition more central to efforts to improve population health. Although they have multiple implications for local food systems, assessments of produce prescription programs too rarely consider the perspectives of farmers.
In a new JAFSCD article, Growing community, food sovereignty, and health: A case study of a farm-based produce prescription program, Sara Shostak, Anna Kehoe, Jolie Black, and Rachel Bindman present findings from a mixed-methods case study of VegRx, a farm-based produce prescription program. Drawing on interviews with both farmers and clinicians, they first describe how produce prescription programs can be aligned with the missions of community farms, including increasing access to healthy, locally grown food, building relationships with and among underserved community members, and advancing food sovereignty. They then present an analysis of the outcomes of VegRx for program participants, which included significant improvements in access to healthy and desired foods, vegetable and fruit consumption, and subjective physical and mental health.
Corresponding author Sara Shostak can be contacted at sshostak@brandeis.edu. KEY FINDINGS
For community farms, produce prescription programs offer a powerful—and fundable—strategy for increasing access to healthy, locally grown food.
Participation in VegRx—a 20-week, farm-based produce prescription program—is associated with statistically significant improvements in food access, diet (including the frequency with which participants eat leafy greens, orange and red vegetables, and fruit), and self-rated physical and mental health status. Produce prescription programs at community farms help build relationships with and among underserved community members, advance food sovereignty, and foster partnerships with healthcare organizations that make the health-enhancing resources of a farm more widely available.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND RESEARCH
Partnerships between community farms and clinics—such as produce prescription programs—are an impactful strategy for improving food access, food sovereignty, and community health.
The design of produce prescription programs should take into account the cultural traditions, food preferences, and cooking practices of their intended participants.
More robust and sustained funding will be critical to the continuation and success of produce prescription programs.
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What can produce prescription programs do for patients, providers, and food systems? In #Waltham, #Massachusetts, a farm-based produce prescription is improving food access, food sovereignty, and health outcomes. #VegRx #ProducePrescription Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.143.016
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Photo above: Waltham Fields Community Farm outreach farmer Marie-Ana packing boxes for the VegRx program. Photo provided by WFCF. |
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India’s onion markets, plagued by extreme price swings, reveal deep structural flaws: hoarding by middlemen, inadequate storage, and reactive policies that harm farmers and consumers alike.
In a new JAFSCD viewpoint article, The impact of India's onion policy on local growers and communities, Ashutosh Sharma uncovers how speculative trading and political collusion worsen supply-demand imbalances, pushing smallholder farmers into debt and migration. The research highlights decentralized solutions like blockchain-enabled cooperatives and solar-powered cold storage to empower rural communities, reduce waste, and stabilize prices. Author Ashutosh Sharma can be contacted at asharma06@fisher.edu.
KEY FINDINGS - Speculative trading and hoarding drive over 50% of price fluctuations, enabled by weak oversight and political collusion.
- Post-harvest losses reach 30% due to inadequate cold storage, forcing farmers into distress sales.
- Reactive policies, such as export bans and price ceilings, fail to address systemic issues, deepening rural poverty.
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Farmer-led cooperatives using e-auctions reduced hoarding by 60% and boosted profits by 25% in pilot regions.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH -
Adopt blockchain technology to track supply chains, curb hoarding, and ensure fair prices for farmers.
- Invest in decentralized solar-powered cold storage managed by local communities to cut spoilage and create jobs.
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Phase out export bans and deregulate markets to align prices with global standards.
- Establish price stabilization funds and forward contracts to protect farmers from volatility.
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Prioritize climate-resilient infrastructure, such as meteorological tools, to mitigate yield shocks.
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Why do onion prices in India keep skyrocketing? A new viewpoint reveals how hoarding and poor infrastructure hurt farmers—and how tech and community action could fix the crisis. #India #onionindustry #marketmanipulation #hoarding Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.143.013
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Photo above: Vibrant heaps of fresh onions in India's Koyambedu Market, glistening under soft sunlight, symbolize both the agricultural richness of India and the challenges faced by farmers in a volatile market. Photo by McKay Savage, under CC BY 2.0 license (cropped in this use).
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NEWS FROM JAFSCD SHAREHOLDERS |
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A new webinar, Delicious Advances in Institutional Plant-Forward Menus, is happening on Monday, June 23, from 11:30am to 12:30pm Eastern Time. The webinar will explore shifts to plant-forward menus in hospitals, universities, and more across Canada with leaders from the field! Panelists will present about their work advancing plant-forward menus in institutional settings, followed by a Q&A. For more information and to register: bit.ly/plantforwardmenus
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Could Mentoring Help People in Your Organization?
Whether at a small local food organization or a large land-grant university, people everywhere benefit from mentoring. Brian Raison, a professor and Extension educator with the Ohio State University, recently compiled 40 easy-to-use mentoring tools to help build capacity in people and organizations.
This mentoring approach is grounded in nonformal learning theory that meets people where they are and provides highly engaging tools (“conversation-starters”) mentors can use with no training. All are available here as free downloads: https://encouragingmentor.com Here are the most-downloaded items: - Mentoring Renovation Framework (14 tools): A simple framework that can be overlaid on any existing mentoring program — or use it to launch a new one. (32 pages)
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Mentoring Early- and Mid-Career (12 conversations): Personal and professional development tools anyone can use in mentoring and career-development coaching. These can also work as self-study materials. (13 pages)
- 20 Anytime Mentoring Questions: A guide provides 20 question prompts that anyone can use to enter into mentoring conversations. (1 page)
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JAFSCD SHAREHOLDER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES |
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Assistant/Associate Professor of Wildfire Management
(Position #0083067) in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR). Full-time, tenure-track position based in Honolulu with an 11-month appointment. Details here. | | County Administrator for Kaua‘i
(Position #0089216) in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR). Full-time, permanent position located in Kapa‘a, with a salary range of $129,732 to $233,508, depending on qualifications. Details here. |
| Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs
(Position #0089047) at UH at M?noa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR). Full-time leadership role focused on enhancing academic programs and student experiences. Details here. |
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