A new fruit and veg prescription project has been launched in London in a bid 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, have launched the new prescription model as part of a £250,000 pilot scheme.
The trial will explore the viability of fruit and veg on prescription as a long-term solution to tackling diet-related ill health and food insecurity.
People will be prescribed Rose Vouchers for fruit and veg and will receive £6 per week in Tower Hamlets and £8 per week in Lambeth, plus £2 per week for each household member.
Participants can spend their Rose Vouchers on 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.
During the 12-month pilot, the vouchers will be distributed to 122 residents who are at risk of, or have, conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or mental health conditions and are struggling financially.
The projects will also be delivered in partnership with charitable organisations: the Bromley by Bow Centre in Tower Hamlets and by The Beacon Project in Lambeth.
“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,” said Jonathan Pauling, CEO at Alexandra Rose Charity. “We hope the Fruit & Veg on Prescription Project will make a healthy diet easier to access for people who are struggling.”
“So many long and short-term illnesses deteriorate significantly with a poor diet,” said Sam Everington, a GP in Bromley by Bow, chair of NHS Tower Hamlets clinical commissioning group and VP of the British Medical Association. “A healthy diet can often achieve far more than any medicines I can prescribe as a GP.”
It comes as food inflation has reached a record of 13.3%, while YouGov research found one in 10 low-income Londoners are living on less than £3 a day to spend on food. Additionally, another 4% had at most £10 to spend on food and 2% said they had “nothing left at all” to spend on groceries.
“The cost of living crisis is worsening and exacerbating rising levels of diet-related ill health and food insecurity,” said Pauling. “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.”
Tower Hamlets currently has the highest poverty rate (39%), child poverty rate (56%) and income inequality of all London boroughs.
When the pilot is evaluated, it could be rolled out across the UK subject to funding.
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