“Food Farmacy” has a nice ring to it.
It’s part of an initiative to bring local people together with homegrown fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Tochi Amagwula-Keeton opened a wellness clinic a couple of years ago in Pine Bluff, but sometimes the best medicine doesn’t come in bottles or vials but is instead something pulled up right out of the ground.
It’s all part of Communities Unlimited, a Fayetteville-based program that provides a 12-week Food Farmacy to Pine Bluff-area residents as part of a pilot program.
“They needed a health care site to really identify a population that may benefit” from the program, “and that’s why they picked us,” Amagwula-Keeton said. “It fits into our whole-person treatment model.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The benefits are doubled, meaning it’s a win-win. Not only do local people gain access to healthy eating fare but the food itself is grown locally. And sometimes, even when it would seem that local folks have access to healthy produce, they may not, considering the food desert that people in some parts of the city now find themselves in.
In each box of food, there’s an assortment of fruits, vegetables and fresh eggs from minority farmers from the area. One farmer, Burthel Thomas, who farms across the river near Altheimer, brought the Blackjack seedless watermelons he grows. The mouth waters.
Certainly, eating fresh fruits and vegetables has been shown to be a healthy alternative to processed foods. But as the good doctor points out, such a diet can be good for what ails you, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.
Impoverished areas typically have more than their fair share of such health issues because healthy foods that lead to healthy lifestyles are not inexpensive foods. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could take this program and multiply it 10-fold or 100-fold? We are picturing low cost but highly productive neighborhood community gardens where individuals, with the city’s assistance, grow their own veggies and get exercise doing it at the same time. The city certainly has enough vacant lots now to make a real impact. Why not become the City of Gardens?
Good luck, Dr. Amagwula-Keeton with the Communities Unlimited program. The path to healthy eating and living just got a little easier to travel.