07 Nov FRUIT AND VEG ON PRESCRIPTION PILOT LAUNCHED TO TACKLE ILL HEALTH AND FOOD POVERTY
An innovative pilot, thought to be the UK’s first large-scale “Fruit & Veg on Prescription” project, has been launched to help tackle health inequality and food poverty.
Alexandra Rose Charity, in partnership with public health teams in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Lambeth, has launched Fruit & Veg on Prescription as part of a £250,000 pilot funded by local authorities and a charitable foundation.
The projects will be delivered in partnership with the Bromley by Bow Centre in Tower Hamlets, one of the earliest pioneers of social prescribing, and by The Beacon Project in Lambeth.
Trials in the boroughs, which both have high rates of chronic disease, will explore the viability of fruit and veg on prescription as a long-term solution to tackling diet-related ill health and food insecurity.
The project launches as food prices continue to soar and fresh food inflation has reached a record 13.3%.
Each person will be prescribed Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg and will receive up to £8 per week in vouchers, plus £2 per week for each household member*.
Participants can spend their Rose Vouchers on the fruit and veg of their choice with local retailers and market traders. In Tower Hamlets, they will also be invited to take part in monthly healthy lifestyle group sessions to improve their understanding of nutrition and health.
Alexandra Rose Charity operates in eight locations across the UK, supporting communities via its Rose Vouchers for Fruit & Veg Projects – these help families on low incomes to buy fresh fruit and veg.
The charity, which has been doing this work since 2014, says diet-related ill health costs the NHS billions each year. Prescribing fruit and veg using a social prescribing approach that considers a person’s whole life situation could prevent premature death and significantly reduce healthcare costs.
“Fruit & Veg on Prescription is an idea whose time has come,” said Jonathan Pauling, Chief Executive at Alexandra Rose Charity.
“The cost of living crisis is worsening and exacerbating rising levels of diet-related ill health and food insecurity. When calories from unhealthy food are three times cheaper than healthy alternatives, it makes sense that people will prioritise being full rather than being healthy, but this only stores up problems for the future.
“Diet-related ill health is costing the NHS billions every year, but more importantly, it is limiting the life chances of people on low incomes. We hope that the Fruit & Veg on Prescription Project will make a healthy diet easier to access for people who are struggling.”
Professor Sir Sam Everington, a GP in Bromley by Bow, Chair of NHS Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group, and Vice President of the British Medical Association, said all clinicians should embrace the prescription of fruit and veg.
“So many long and short-term illnesses deteriorate significantly with a poor diet. A healthy diet can often achieve far more than any medicines I can prescribe as a GP.
“Therefore, fruit and veg prescriptions are essential in reversing and preventing many illnesses. When I trained over 40 years ago, Type 2 Diabetes was a disease of the elderly. We are now seeing it in teenagers. Much of it is preventable with a healthy diet and good regular exercise. Fruit and veg should be part of every prescription.”
