GusNIP Partner Feature: Delta Health Alliance
GusNIP Partner Feature:
Delta Health Alliance
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Delta Health Alliance (DHA), a community-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Stoneville, Mississippi, was founded as a consortium of nonprofit agencies and regional universities to coordinate programs and conduct research on pressing public health issues. Since 2001, DHA has been addressing critical health care and wellness gaps in the Mississippi Delta through community-operated programs.
The Delta Produce Rx Program has three pillars that collectively provide a broad spectrum of ways that consumers with limited income can increase their purchase and nutritious use of fruits and vegetables in areas where access to affordable, healthy food is difficult. This includes (1) a grocery store credit program that provides a credit of $40 to participants’ accounts for the purchase of Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) eligible fruits and vegetables from local groceries and markets; (2) the development of a teaching garden where participants learn how to grow in-season fruits and vegetables and take them home for personal consumption; and (3) educational programs led by a dietitian including healthy cooking classes, one-on-one nutrition counseling, grocery store tours and Lunch & Learn events in their local communities.
DHA Nutrition and Wellness Manager Shelby Ballinger spoke with us about the meaningful impact of the Delta Produce Rx Program and their dedication to increasing food security in the Mississippi Delta.
What is the Delta Produce Rx Program and how is it meeting your community’s needs?
Our produce prescription program meets our community needs by increasing the accessibility to fruits and vegetables in a region with low food sovereignty and some of the highest rates of diabetes and obesity in our country. Once participants are enrolled in the Delta Produce Rx Program, they are offered monthly $80 food vouchers for the produce at a local grocery store, a grocery store tour, one-on-one nutrition counseling, Lunch & Learns and cooking classes. The Delta Wellness Center is our gym that is connected to the medical clinic which also houses our teaching kitchen where we offer additional classes about how physical fitness can help participants work toward improving their chronic disease. Offering these multiple activities gives participants several opportunities to help reduce their BMI, A1C, cholesterol and blood pressure. We aim to use our activities to increase understanding and knowledge of how changing diet and physical activity can help improve or prevent chronic diseases and change how we feel about ourselves.
What consistent findings have you seen about the impact of the Delta Produce Rx Program on your community members, practitioners and policymakers? What successes and challenges have you experienced, and how would you like to expand this initiative?
Pictured above: DHA staff’s harvest of fresh vegetables used during Lunch & Learn nutrition classes.
Our participants have been greatly impacted by this program as proven by A1C and BMI reduction. We have seen an increase in knowledge and understanding among participants as they attend activities and have greater ownership of their health.
We had some challenges in the beginning phases of launching the Delta Produce Rx Program, from setting up the system of our local grocery store to ensuring participant engagement. Once our nutritionist became the project manager and point-of-contact on this program, we started seeing improvements. Participants were more trusting as they already knew the nutritionist from their primary care appointments. This showed through participants signing up for the program and attending the activities. We expanded by adding a community garden this summer. We will continue to grow this piece of the program and promote that the garden is not just for participants: it is for the whole community. We hope to increase education and reduce the barriers to community members having their own home gardens.
DHA has launched and partnered on many programs addressing healthcare, low food security and nutrition education challenges. How have projects like Delta EATS (Edible Agriculture Teaching Students) and past collaborations prepared the DHA team to navigate the Delta Produce Rx Program? What sets it apart from previous initiatives?
Through the Delta EATS program and other past projects, our teams and partners have learned the value of collaborating with residents, key stakeholders, teachers and students in the design, implementation and continual improvement of programs. By engaging with our target populations from day one, adults and children become invested in a program’s success. They help identify which needs are a priority, shape the program’s content and inform how best to deliver educational content. Community feedback served as the springboard for developing our Outdoor Learning Classrooms, which serve our public elementary school systems in rural areas. These classrooms allowed the children a place to learn about science, math and history under the guise of nutrition education: learning to count seeds, weigh crops, understand the growth cycle of plants and animals, and the history of agriculture in the Mississippi Delta. These classrooms also offer a safe, outdoor space to support different initiatives, such as community events and family educational programs.
Pictured above: Nutritionist and DHA Nutrition and Wellness Manager Shelby Ballinger providing nutrition education during a cooking class.
DHA was founded in 2001—how have your focus areas, vision and goals evolved over the last 20+ years? How will DHA continue changing the nutrition and healthcare landscape in the next five to ten years?
Since our creation as an alliance between local colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and our regional economic development agency, DHA has pursued its mission: to improve the lives of the men, women and children who make the Mississippi Delta their home. Initially, we approached that objective through healthcare services and disease prevention. We began with programs and collaborations that addressed critical health needs, such as access to diabetes programs among communities that have been marginalized and historically excluded, have limited income and/or live in rural areas. In 2006, DHA received its first large, multi-county award which allowed us to expand our services significantly. First, we focused on more health topics, such as stroke, maternal and infant health, mental health, HIV/AIDS, school health, nutrition and exercise. We also created new workforce training programs for healthcare workers and educators, health information technology programs, including electronic health records and telemedicine initiatives, and early childhood development supports like literacy initiatives.
With ongoing input from our community-based advisory groups, we became increasingly aware of the interconnected nature of the factors that contribute to sustainable improvements in health. These factors include education, economic security, safety, stable housing, reliable transportation and more. We realized that to continue sustaining these improvements, we needed to address other basic supports that our communities lacked. This led DHA to branch out into other areas and address the “whole” health of the communities we serve.
Over the years, we worked with local partners and neighborhood representatives to create new initiatives focused on school and workforce training, build community gardens, establish a mobile medical clinic and a transportation van for residents with limited income. We also constructed and currently maintain our Delta Wellness Center which offers exercise facilities, nutrition classes and wellness programs. We also just started construction of a new rehabilitation clinic to address the physical therapy and occupational therapy needs of our residents living in rural areas.
In the next five to ten years, we will continue building upon the lessons learned in our previous 20 years and shape DHA’s future with the help of our advisory councils, town halls and residential focus groups. Children will continue to play a key role in our strategic developments as they offer insights into improving nutrition and wellness programs. This includes helping design new community gardens and develop outdoor learning classrooms. We also hope to continue expanding our Grocery Store Tours in which residents can go grocery shopping with a trained nutritionist who helps guide their food selection while maximizing a limited grocery budget.
Does DHA have any organizational or staff food philosophies or customs that you would like to share?
Knowledge is key to changing behaviors that can help promote a healthy lifestyle.