Maternal Produce Prescription Program - Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) proposes the Healthy Beginnings: Maternal Produce Prescription Project, a four-year expansion of its established Health Care Share produce prescription program to improve food and nutrition security and maternal and infant health outcomes among pregnant and postpartum individuals experiencing food insecurity in Chittenden County, Vermont. Although Vermont performs well on many maternal health indicators, significant disparities persist among low-income families and those experiencing food insecurity. Poor nutrition during pregnancy contributes to increased risk of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, unhealthy gestational weight gain, adverse birth outcomes, and long-term chronic disease for both parent and child. Access to healthy food remains a significant barrier for many families during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The Healthy Beginnings Project will serve approximately 240 pregnant and postpartum participants over four years through an integrated Food is Medicine model embedded within prenatal and community-based care settings. Healthcare providers and community-based organizations will identify, refer, and enroll eligible participants through coordinated referral pathways integrated into routine prenatal and postpartum care. Participants will receive weekly produce prescriptions featuring fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables for 18 months, beginning during pregnancy and continuing into the postpartum period. Participants will receive produce through distribution sites operated in partnership with UVM Medical Center, Community Health Centers of Burlington, Maitri Health Care for Women, and The Family Room. The project integrates produce prescriptions with nutrition education, culinary medicine programming, participant-informed program design, care coordination, and strong healthcare-community partnerships. VYCC will collaborate with UVM Culinary Medicine, UVM Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), Green Mountain Evaluation, and community partners to deliver evidence-based nutrition education, evaluate implementation and outcomes, and support continuous quality improvement. The project will increase fruit and vegetable consumption, improve food security, strengthen participant engagement with nutrition education and healthcare services, and contribute to improved maternal and infant health outcomes. Project evaluation will assess implementation, participant experience, food security, dietary behaviors, and selected maternal and birth outcomes while generating evidence to inform future Food is Medicine interventions for pregnant and postpartum populations. By expanding VYCC's established Health Care Share produce prescription program through coordinated healthcare and community partnerships, the Healthy Beginnings Project will strengthen referral pathways connecting healthcare and nutrition support, improve access to healthy food during the critical prenatal and postpartum periods, advance equitable maternal health outcomes, and strengthen Vermont's Food is Medicine infrastructure.
