Food Is Medicine
We're on a mission to provide improved access to nutritious, locally grown food, basic nutrition education, and cooking skills to help prevent and treat chronic disease in West Virginia.
Rooted in care, grown in our local communities
Founded in 2016 through a partnership between a Wheeling, WV clinic and Grow Ohio Valley, FARMacy WV connects healthcare and agriculture to improve community health. By providing access to fresh, nutritious food—and the knowledge to use it—our program helps prevent and manage chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension here in our home state.
FARMacy WV proudly operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Our Four Pillars of Transformative Community Health
Our approach is built on four key pillars that work together to make lasting change– connecting food access, education, healthcare, and measurable outcomes to support healthier lives across West Virginia.
Local food sourcing
Connecting with local farmers to provide fresh, nutritious produce directly to participants
Nutrition education
Empowering individuals with knowledge to make healthier food choices
Healthcare integration
Collaborating with medical professionals to address chronic disease through nutrition and lifestyle
Access to affordable, fresh produce
With many West Virginians facing food insecurity, improving access to affordable, fresh produce helps close the gap between healthy choices and real-world availability.
Program Model Eligibility
Our program model relies on healthcare providers identifying potential participants who face nutrition insecurity and / or chronic disease. See a full overview of our model below.
A medical provider must identify potential participants
• Patient selection
• Written prescription for fresh produce
• Weekly reinforcement validates “food as medicine” concept
Participants enjoy increased access to fresh, local produce
• Locally grown
• Reinforces food provenance
• Regular interaction with grower / aggregator
Getting back to the basics with nutrition education
• Basic nutrition principles and culinary instruction
• Healthy recipes
• 6-week dosage
Measuring our impact with data
• Demonstrate statewide impacts
• Clinical metrics
• Attitudes
• Behaviors
• Self-efficacy
FARMacy WV History & Results
Since 2016 the program has continued to grow throughout the state. Locations include hospitals, clinics, and private doctors’ practices. We have recruited and supported West Virginia farmers, growers, and aggregators to provide produce for the program. WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program educators have provided the nutrition and cooking skills classes for the initial six weeks of the program as well as weekly recipes and on-site food demonstrations using produce available to participants each week.
The program has been standardized to 15 weeks. Our target patient population remains those with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, but most have comorbidities of obesity, hypertension, heart disease, etc. All participants receive one week supply of fresh produce via a written prescription by their provider which they exchange for the produce on a weekly basis for 15 weeks.
Biometric data collection includes HgA1c and lipid profiles pre- and post-program as well as weights and BP throughout the course of the 15 weeks. Surveys are conducted pre- and post-program to elicit information about food insecurities, eating habits, produce preparation and consumption in addition to other relevant participant information.
Our Incredible Partners
FARMacy WV moves forward towards our goals with the help of many talented people and generous organizations.
The Need is Great
West Virginia consistently ranks among the nation’s least healthy states. These figures underscore the importance of innovative programs that link nutrition, education, and medical care.
