Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program Graduates with Nutrition Educator
Worksite Wellness Program
Environmental Change Efforts
A healthy lifestyle is about the choices we all make – how we live our lives, what we choose to eat, and the activities we participate in every day. Those choices, however, are shaped by the opportunities that surround us in our environment. Research demonstrates that people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors when communities are supportive, have convenient, low cost access to nutritious foods, and have safe, fun ways to be active. CCE Jefferson works with local communities to make the North Country a healthier place to live, work, learn, and play. We help local groups, community leaders, and organizations create policies, practices, and environments to make healthy lifestyles the easy choice.
Get involved:
- Contact us to learn more about how you can get involved in our current initiatives.
- North Country Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Initiative - This initiative promotes affordable access to fruits and vegetables and healthy eating in under-served communities through coordinated partnerships with healthcare providers and fresh produce retailers. Speak to your local healthcare provider to see if you are eligible to participate and request that they refer you!
- Local Food to You - This initiative aims to improve access to fresh produce for the food-insecure by bringing local food and farmers to convenient sites where in-need individuals may live, work, learn, or frequent.
- Teens Leading Teens - This initiative works with middle and high school students to help them develop the skills to encourage their peers to make healthy choices related to food and physical activity. They will do this through peer-led nutrition education, developing promotional materials, and creating a social marketing and media campaign aimed at promoting healthy behaviors in the school setting. These students may also have the opportunity to work with their local school wellness committees to encourage policies, systems, and environmental changes related to student wellness.
Contact
April Bennett
Nutrition, Food, & Wellness Program Manager
Aln48@cornell.edu
315-788-8450 ext. 265
Last updated November 19, 2024
Teens Leading Teens
The Teens Leading Teens program encourages wellness, healthy eating, and physical activity among middle and high school students. CCE Nutrition Educators provide nutrition education training and support for teens as they facilitate education, projects, and activities with peers with a goal of being social influencers in their school settings. Learn more about the Teens Leading Teens program!
North Country Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program
What is it?
- The goal of the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx) is to help you learn new, healthy ways to eat more fruits and vegetables to combat risks of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease.
How does it work?
- Your healthcare provider will conduct a brief screening to assess your risk and write you a prescription for FREE produce and nutrition support.
- A nutritionist will invite you to a 6-week interactive workshop series.
- Participate in LIVE cooking demonstrations and tastings featuring in-season produce.
- Receive $25 in free produce vouchers at each workshop you attend (total value of $150).
- Connect to participating local farm direct or brick and mortar retail sites to fill your produce prescription.
- Look for these signs to redeem your vouchers!
- Receive FREE incentives such as kitchen tools and gift cards for attending workshops and completing nutrition surveys.*
- View our Redemption Site Partners brochure to find participating local partners in your area.
*Incentives available while supplies last.
Am I eligible?
- Are you at risk of or diagnosed with a diet-related chronic disease?
- In the last year, have you worried your food would run out before you got money to buy more, or had difficulty keeping enough food in the house until you had money to get more?
- To get started, ask your healthcare provider for more information and/or to make a referral.
View the brochure for the FVRx program.
Look for these signs to redeem your vouchers!
Change Club Project
The Watertown Change Club is a small group of Watertown residents who are working to change their community environment by creating more accessible and aesthetically pleasing public spaces for Watertown residents to enjoy physical activity opportunities. This project, aligned with current improvements by the City of Watertown Planning Department and Watertown Parks and Recreation, focuses on the Pinnacle Trail at Thompson Park, right in the heart of Watertown. There, they are adding benches, trail markers, a dog walker’s disposal station, and additional park signage to create a cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing space for trail users.
Learn more about how this group is working to promote an active lifestyle.
About GusNIP
NC FVRx is made possible with funding from The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill to provide funding opportunities for projects providing incentives to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by low-income consumers. GusNIP grants bring together partners from various parts of the food and healthcare system to help improve the health and nutrition status of participating households, facilitate growth in states with low participation, as well as collect and aggregate data to identify and improve best practices on a broad scale. Produce Prescription Program projects demonstrate and evaluate the impact of fresh fruit and vegetable prescriptions to increase procurement and consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce individual and household food insecurity, and reduce healthcare usage and associated costs. GusNIP builds on the foundation of the Healthy Incentive Pilot (HIP) and the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives (FINI) grant program. Since it was established in 2019, GusNIP has provided over $270M in funding to 197 projects throughout the U.S. Learn More at USDA.GOV.