Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program

The Small Farm Unit at the NCDA&CS Cherry Research Farm is collaborating with East Carolina University (ECU) to establish a vegetable-based clinic program in collaboration with Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro, NC. The purpose is to use fresh fruits and vegetables as prescriptions to support clinic patients who are battling chronic diseases. Dr. Liang will lead the specialty vegetable production and operations in Goldsboro, NC in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. ECU will provide interns from the clinician program in 2021 to help with fruit and vegetable production, management, and harvesting at the Small Farm Unit. Two ECU researchers will collaborate with Dr. Liang to gather data for health indicator analysis to monitor changes in diet and health. This collaboration will yield new opportunities for healthcare clinicians to acquire agriculture and farming knowledge regarding fruit and vegetable productions, while clinic patients have opportunities to taste and use specialty vegetables in achieving a long-term healthy diet profile.