Bill would make fresh produce a covered benefit
“This is a really exciting opportunity to improve the health of Californians through the food is medicine approach.”
— Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland
A unique Alameda County program that pairs at-risk residents with prescriptions for fresh produce may go statewide with the introduction of a new bill that would make food a covered benefit under Medi-Cal for low-income Californians.
The proposal, from Assemblyman Rob Bonta, DOakland, is the latest in a “food is medicine” movement that connects poor people with chronic health conditions to local fresh fruits and vegetables.
The legislation also was sponsored by ALL IN Alameda County, an antipoverty initiative that recently launched a “food pharmacy” program to provide people with doctor’s prescriptions for fresh produce at several health clinics across the county. The goal is to reduce food insecurity and the prevalence of diet-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension among low-income populations that don’t always have the money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
Bonta’s bill would expand Alameda County’s food-medicine program statewide. Although some details have to be ironed out, the bill would add food as a covered Medi-Cal benefit for patients with health conditions upon request from a doctor or medical professional.
“This is a really exciting opportunity to improve the health of Californians through the food is medicine approach,” Bonta said. “This is a growing movement nationally, and a lot of the innovation started right in my backyard.”
Organizers say the Bay
Area has been at the forefront of the food is medicine movement. San Francisco piloted a food pharmacy program in 2016 that has expanded to nearly a dozen clinics across the city as well as Marin County.
The South Bay launched its first food pharmacy the same year at the Samaritan House Free Clinic in Redwood City. Alameda County has pharmacies in at least five health centers, with plans to expand to several more.
Motivated by the progress of food-medicine programs in Alameda County, Bonta calls his latest bill an example of “California being California: Scaling up the innovation of its local jurisdictions. We are on the cutting edge by moving statewide through this bill.”
This report is part of The California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequity and economic survival in California.