Food Rx: Beebe, Food Bank partner for healthier lifestyles
September 26, 2024
Wearing royal blue scrubs with the Beebe logo on her shirt, it’s obvious that Traci Wilcox is at work, not in a hospital — but in the Millsboro Library Parking lot.
“Hi, there. How’s your son doing this week,” says Wilcox, greeting a woman who pulled up in a maroon van. Her friendly tone and body language — a lean toward the driver’s window and a concerned head tilt — indicate this is no stranger. Carrying a box of food, Wilcox pauses so she and the woman can share a brief, but congenial conversation.
Exchanges like this one, set up outside a clinical setting, are built into Beebe’s Food Prescription Program. The Beebe van parks in the Millsboro Library Parking lot once a week, signaling to those enrolled in that they can check in and pick up their box of healthy food, including proteins, fresh vegetables and fruit.
Under a small canopy – shelter from the elements – Wilcox, RN, a community outreach nurse, and a a community health worker, set up the temporary office, so to speak. Food boxes, through a partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware, are stacked on a folding table. They brought along a couple of folding chairs as they waited for participants during the hour-long appointment window.
The outdoor distributions occur every week. So, healthy food is distributed weekly during the 24-week initiative with 12 weeks of educational sessions being offered to help participants understand how to better self-manage their health conditions, learn about nutritional needs, and develop skills to prepare foods in healthful ways. Similar meetings occur in the Georgetown Library for those who participate in a Georgetown-based program.
Supported by Merck’s philanthropic funding, these 24-week programs are relatively new; to qualify, participants report a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or high cholesterol, in addition to experiencing food insecurity. They agree to attend scheduled programs designed to help improve those biometrics. “So far, we have had great feedback,” said Wilcox.
Here’s how the program works: a participant must live in the 19947 or 19966 zip code. A nurse obtains baseline biometrics — blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels. Potential participants also must complete a readiness-to-change questionnaire during the intake session.
“We have weekly contact; we address food and nutrition. The Community Health Worker helps them with other needs such as housing, caregiver resources, insurance for medication, etc. We have people – male and female – from their 30s into their 80s. The program is geared to help the individual with their chronic conditions by providing education and healthy food options,” explained Wilcox.
While the food boxes are stocked with fresh produce, healthy protein, and some pantry items, the classes this month focus on healthy food choices. Six consecutive chronic conditions self-management courses started the educational portion of the program and were offered to all participants. Classes can be attended in person, with video access through a QR code or even telephonically. September’s syllabus features three classes with a dietician and three with Beebe’s Chef Pam whose instruction will include adaptations for participants families who may be unhoused or living with limited kitchen resources.
Biometric data will be collected again after three months and at the end of the 24-week program to monitor improvement.
Wilcox noticed – and maybe participants have as well – a value to attending classes in person: a sense of community is developing. People are talking to one another. “They are meeting new friends, exchanging new ideas,” she said. “And we love our job, meeting new people. They are learning yet another way to trust Beebe Healthcare. We hope to see improvements.”
Email FoodRx@beebehealthcare.org for more information about the next cohort in this program.
