Harvest Regional Food Bank has teamed up with CHRISTUS Health to help patients who need nutritious diets. Through this partnership, doctors at CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic can now give eligible patients a prescription for monthly healthy food boxes from Harvest Regional Food Bank. This program is designed for patients who are food insecure and have diabetes or high blood pressure.
Camille Wrinkle, executive director of Harvest Regional Food Bank, said, “The Food Box Prescription Program is unique because it focuses on specific patients to improve their lives and health.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that not having affordable nutritious food can lead to chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Lauren Clark, a clinical dietitian at CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic, added, “The goal is to teach people about nutrition so they can make informed food choices for themselves and their families.”
The program is currently available at four CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic locations: both Richmond Road clinics in Texarkana, the James Bowie Dr. clinic in New Boston, and the Trinity Drive clinic in Hope, Arkansas.
Jeri Brocker, a family nurse practitioner at CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic in Texarkana, said, “This program is very beneficial for those who do not have regular access to healthy food. It helps improve their quality of life and health, aligning with the CHRISTUS mission to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”
Harvest Regional Food Bank has been serving Texarkana and nearby areas since 1989. Besides the Food Box Prescription program, the food bank helps more than 55,000 food-insecure individuals each year, distributing over 4.4 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 3.57 million meals, in 2023.
Still, one in five people in Southwest Arkansas and Northeast Texas struggles with hunger. Your donation to Harvest Regional Food Bank helps fight hunger in our community. Learn more and donate at harvestregionalfoodbank.org.
