SFGH Therapeutic Food Pantry - San Francisco Health Network (SFHN)

The SFGH Therapeutic Food Pantry (TFP) will be a clinically based prescription food program. Providers at SFGH will be able to prescribe fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other relevant healthy food items to their patients. Patients will fill these prescriptions at the Therapeutic Food Pantry.

What will the TFP provide?

Nutrition Education: Upon arrival to the Food Pantry, patients will receive on-site nutrition education relevant to their disease and health goals. Food demonstrations will be hosted at our Demonstration Kitchen to help patients learn how to prepare foods.
Food: Patients will be given approximately 25 pounds of food per visit (amount will vary depending on family size) which will typically feed a family of four for approximately five days. Patients receiving “max assist” from the Pantry can return every two weeks for as many refills as indicated by their provider. Some patients may go once every other month or a few times a year as a nutrition education “refresher” or in times of greater economic hardship and food insecurity.
Referral to resources: Patients will also receive referrals to local food resources in order to leverage existing programs to help address food insecurity and its downstream health consequences.

Why does SFGH need the TFP?

Increase access to healthy food
Promote healthy eating
Provide unique and intensive nutrition education
Address food insecurity in our community

What does the TFP hope to achieve?

Primary goals

Improve health outcomes, including stable weights in children and weight loss in adults, improved markers of diabetes such as hemoglobin A1c, and improved blood pressure

Secondary goals

Promote community engagement with local schools, community gardens, and farmers’ markets to contribute to the Food Pantry as well as partnerships with local non-profits, NGOs, and patient advocacy groups to strengthen the community of champions advocating for increased access to healthy food for our most vulnerable populations.
Connect patients with existing food resources and programming, including WIC, SNAP, Free Eats, local farmers’ markets, etc and 80% will indicate participation in at least one of these programs.

Tertiary goals

Change/lead conversation around role of health systems in promoting health and wellness

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