Nutrition Security Among Medicaid Patients With Diabetes or Prediabetes After Completing a Produce Prescription Program

Top Things to Know

PRx programs can directly improve patients’ ability to consistently access and consume foods aligned with diabetes prevention and management.

Participants became better able to identify healthy foods and locate stores selling them, highlighting that produce prescriptions can also shift knowledge, confidence, and navigation skills.

The program was successfully integrated across multiple FQHCs and helped clinics identify nutritional needs, connect patients to resources, and directly address access barriers.

Summary of Conclusion/Findings

This observational study evaluated a produce prescription program (PRx) that provided Medicaid patients with diabetes or prediabetes $40 per month for 6 months to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. After completing the program, participants experienced a 15.5% absolute increase in nutrition security, rising from 23.2% to 38.7%. Food security also improved substantially, with a 17.7% absolute increase from baseline to follow-up (25.2% to 42.9%). Multivariable analyses confirmed these findings: participants were nearly three times more likely to be nutrition secure (AOR = 2.95) and over four times more likely to be food secure at follow‑up compared with baseline. Although most participants continued to say that healthy foods were too expensive, several barriers (e.g., difficulty identifying healthy foods or finding stores offering them) significantly decreased over time. Overall, the PRx improved access to healthy foods and reduced structural barriers, demonstrating meaningful short‑term gains in nutrition security for this high‑risk population.