Harvest Health is a community-based project launched by EMFS local foods agent, Jessica Mrugala with support from MountainWise, Western Carolina University, and Vecinos. EMFS is collaborating with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (with funding from the Dogwood Association) to continue this project in partnership with Vecinos, supplying Latinx families and farmworkers with fresh local produce for the next two years. The Swain County Health Department will also be adding a project working with their families beginning in the spring of 2023! Swain County Produce Prescription Program will serve nearly 50 families experiencing food insecurity in the county. They will receive weekly food boxes from Darnell Farms delivered right to their doorsteps for 12 weeks. This collaborative project with Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), Empowering Mountain Food Systems Project (EMFS), and Darnell Farms will help to inform future food security projects benefiting the residents of Swain County and elsewhere around the region.

So what is the Harvest Health Produce Prescription project?

Harvest Health is a Produce Prescription (Rx) program designed to educate consumers about healthy, seasonal eating and engage regional farmers. Produce Rx programs connect physicians and dieticians to people with diet-related health risks or conditions, or food access challenges. They are prescribed little to no cost nutrient-packed foods that are intended to ultimately improve healthcare outcomes, reform medical spending, and enhance patient engagement and satisfaction.

Future rounds of this project will be sourced from local food aggregator WNC Farm-to-Table. The project will continue to work with participant families referred from the Cherokee Tribal Food Distribution Program,Vecinos and Cherokee Indian Hospital to receive local, seasonal produce every week along with educational cooking classes with tips on how to incorporate the sometimes-novel fruits and vegetables into their meals. These produce boxes often offer local meat and dairy, and provided cooking kits include quality chef’s knives, immersion blenders, and other tools. Lisa McBride or WNC Farm-to-Table is seeking local producers to supply 75 boxes per week for the next two years! Interested? Contact jmrugal@ncsu.edu

What makes the Harvest Health Produce Prescription project so successful?

When asked what she attributes the success of the project to, Mrugala responds “…we took the time to talk to Cherokee folks about what they wanted to see, I think that’s why it was successful. We took time to listen and ask questions. That’s when folks brought up that transportation is going to be an issue. How do you make sure that people can come and get to these boxes? That’s why we were able to write gas cards into the budget. We learned that internet was going to be a problem. Not everyone was going to be able to access these videos. So, we were able to pivot and stream them from the extension classroom during pickup.” Lossiah highlights Jeanne Crowe, a local Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian participant who enjoyed all the classes, loved learning to incorporate different foods and quickly saw an improvement in her health. Read more about how this project improved her health and even got her young granddaughter on board in Lossiah’s article in The One Feather, “Produce program teaches healthy habits.”

From humble beginnings with WCU students aiming to serve.

Harvest Health grew out of a COVID-era collaboration between EMFS and Western Carolina University. In late 2020, Dr. Patrick Baron and students from the (WCU) Integrated Health Sciences Program worked with Jessica Mrugala to develop the original Produce Rx Program, with the goal of serving the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The students researched national models and interviewed local farmers, community health workers, local dietitians, and community leaders to determine a potential model for the Cherokee.. Their proposed program followed the CSA model, involving a weekly box of local, in-season foods delivered to a central location for client pick-up. Harvest Health officially launched in January 2022 once regional organizations were on board to partner with Jessica and WCU; the two pilot projects were an instant big hit with the participants! The rest is history.

At the Western Carolina University Community Engagement Awards, Jessica Mrugala was awarded The Partnership Award for her effective collaboration with faculty/staff and students to achieve community-service and service-learning goals. Her WCU associate Dr. Patrick Baron was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award, for his demonstrated excellence in using service learning as a teaching and learning strategy.

Harvest Health News