Aiming to dispense boxes of fruits and vegetables as medicine, FarmboxRX has partnered with insurance company Vibra Health to give free food boxes to elderly Medicare patients with diet and chronic-related illnesses.
FarmboxRX, a healthcare initiative from Farmbox Direct, was created to work with insurance companies to provide free access to fruit and vegetables to under-served populations, according to a news release.
Farmbox Direct, founded by Ashley Tyrner in New York City in 2014, is a subscription-based service that delivers conventional and organic fresh produce in various box options to consumers across the country.
The release said the FarmboxRX partnership with the Vibra Health Plan in Pennsylvania will be rolled out on Jan. 1 and will provide 2,700 free produce boxes a month to Vibra’s Medicare-enrolled members, according to the release.
The release said the program represents the first time a U.S. insurance company has attempted a complimentary food delivery program for its members. The goal of the fresh produce deliveries is to elevate healthcare, prevented repeated hospital stays and reduce costs.
For 2021, the release said, FarmboxRX has signed up with two additional insurance providers and will be expanding into other states. The plan for 2021 is to ship 250,000 boxes, according to the release.
“Our initial partnership with Vibra Health Plan will start a revolution in healthcare,” Ashley Tyrner, Farmbox Direct’s founder and CEO said in the release. “And as we expand our reach over the next few years, the goal is to address and solve the underlying issue for people with diet-related chronic illnesses, which is as simple as changing their nutrition.”
As part of the program, FarmboxRX will educate recipients on the benefits of each fruit and vegetable included in the box, according to the release. The program also will give recipes by renowned chef Sam Kass, former White House chef and member of the board for Farmbox Direct.
“The partnership between FarmboxRX and Vibra Health Plan is the future of health,” Kass said in the release. “We are simply not eating enough fruit and vegetables, and this is especially true in low income and rural communities where access to healthy food is severely limited.”
Kass said in the release that the partnership to bring basic nutrition to those that need it most will improve lives, significantly boost health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
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