MIDLAND, Texas — Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. The West Texas Food Bank and Midland Health have teamed up to create a program that helps combat those rates.
In the past, Midland Health saw a pattern with chronic conditions among their patients.
“We were wondering what else we could do for our patients and they in the community to help with different chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes," said Midland Health Community Relations Coordinator Taylor Wiedenfeld. "And the best things sometimes is food.”
This trend was noticed by West Texas Food Bank as well.
“Here in this community, I think it's a need just really everywhere," said West Texas Food Bank Dietitian Kayla White. "I've been far really nutrition focused foods for people who are food insecure and also have a chronic nutrition related health disease.”
In 2023, the two organizations decided to partner and create the First Food Farmacy in the area.
“Our goal is to be low-cost items that you could get at the store pretty easily as well as provide a bag of those items that we use in our food demo, and then with that, we'll talk about nutrition and health,” White said.
The presentation highlighted nutrition topics like MyPlate and incorporating necessary food groups into daily meals.
The more knowledge someone has about how to maintain a healthy diet, the better their quality of life.
“You know, ideally, they stay out of the ER, and we want to make sure that they're healthy and they can do that with food and so that's the big goal,” Wiedenfeld said.
The program is currently referral-based only. Incoming patients will speak with a social worker about the Food Farmacy and its benefits. Even those who aren't participants, there are still steps you can take to improve your health.
“Start small," Wiedenfeld said. "You know, if it's just working on fruits and veggies, you making sure you see all of those in each meal or drinking more water. Simple things like that to start off with and then you can gain more confidence in finding new recipes and trying new foods."
When Midland Health brought this idea to the West Texas Food Bank, they wanted the public to continue striving to become the healthiest community in Texas through healthy food and health-conscious decisions.