UAMS, Well Fed Partner for Food Initiative in Arkansas Delta

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is partnering with non-profit Well Fed to launch a program to address nutrition insecurity in the Arkansas Delta. 

The Good Food Rx program and research study launched this week on the UAMS East Regional Campus in Helena-West Helena to help patients with diet-related conditions, including diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol, make more informed dietary choices. 

Well Fed is a food access and education NGO that works to address food insecurity in low-income communities in Arkansas. 

The Good Food Rx initiative serves patients at the UAMS Family Medical Center in Helena-West Helena. Its goal is to empower people “to improve their health by consuming the right kinds of healthy foods,” a UAMS news release said. 

Those patients will receive nutritional guidance tailored to specific health issues. Patients also will receive free groceries every month at an on-site food market, the news release said.

“We are thrilled to launch this much-needed health care program here in Arkansas with UAMS,” Josh Harris, Well Fed executive director, said in the news release. “Together, we aim to forge a brighter future for health care and show that diet intervention is a powerful and necessary strategy to improve health outcomes.” 

Participants will have access to nutrition education classes and regular health checkups. 

Funding for the Good Food Rx program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Delta Health Care Services grant, the Arkansas Community Foundation Phillips County Giving Tree grants and a UAMS Chancellor’s Circle Grant.