Rainfall in a Food Desert: Fresh Produce for Diabetics in the South Bronx

Several organizations work toward the 17.6 million food-insecure households nationwide.  City Harvest is one of these organizations providing year-round access to fruits and vegetables by rescuing discarded food from restaurants in and around NYC.  This food is then distributed at no cost to the participants through “mobile markets” located in the neediest neighborhoods in the city.  One such mobile market is located blocks from one of the Montefiore Medical Group (MMG)’s clinics in the South Bronx. 

In May 2012, City Harvest allowed the MMG clinic to begin referring its 1,700 diabetic patients to the market.  In return, residents from the Montefiore Primary Care/Social Internal Medicine residency program attended the mobile market to provide information on food-related health issues to market-goers.  To date, approximately 430 such referrals have been made.  More than 20% of patients referred actually attended the market, which is considered a success given the transient nature of the clinic's population.

Statistical analyses are underway to determine significant differences in age, gender, ethnicity/race, and health status (A1C, blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI) among attendees and non-attendees and to identify barriers to market attendance.  Preliminary reports suggest patients forget the market dates, lose the referral card, or are unable to stand in line for an extended time.

Findings will be used to improve patient’s market utilization.   Future research should explore changes in daily fruit/vegetables consumption by market-goers and the impact of attending the market on biomarkers such as A1C, blood pressure or BMI.