Yazil Rodriguez remembers “the carrot girl.”
The toddler stood out among the participants of Northern Roots, a food program Rodriguez helps administer at Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center, offering fresh fruits, vegetables and pantry items for families with referrals from healthcare providers. The girl ignored sweeter options — apples, kiwis, bananas.
“It was always the carrots, and she’d scream until she’d get one,” recalled Rodriguez, a community health worker at Presbyterian. “It’s always very healing to see kids excited about veggies.”
Northern Roots is one of a handful of New Mexico programs that offer what’s called a “produce prescription.” It’s exactly what it sounds like: Participants who could benefit from easier access to fruits and veggies — often as a result of diet-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease or obesity — get a steady supply of healthy food and nutrition education resources to complement their medical care.
Read the full story in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
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