A Small Snack, A Bigger Impact: Local Apple Straws Support Food Equity in Central Massachusetts

What might seem like a simple snack is part of a larger strategy to advance food equity at UMass Memorial Health.

Through a partnership with Sodexo and Growing Places, locally sourced apple straws — made from apples grown in Central Massachusetts — are now being introduced into patient meals and hospital cafeterias. The effort reflects a growing focus on using purchasing power to support both community health and the regional economy.

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FEAST: Using Healthcare Purchasing to Advance Food Equity

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Food as Medicine: Expanding Access Through UMass Memorial’s Food Farmacy

At UMass Memorial Health, improving access to healthy food is an essential part of improving health outcomes. That’s the focus of the Food Farmacy program — an initiative that connects patients experiencing food insecurity with nutritious food and supportive services.

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Integrating Food as Medicine Into Patient Care

Food Farmacy is part of a broader “Food is Medicine” approach. It recognizes that access to healthy food can play a critical role in preventing and managing chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease...

Strengthening a Regional Food System Through Partnership With Growing Places

UMass Memorial Health’s work to advance food equity is rooted in partnership — and one of the most important relationships in this work is with Growing Places, a North Central Massachusetts organization dedicated to improving food access, supporting local farmers and building a more equitable food system.

Across the region, Growing Places connects residents with fresh, locally grown food through mobile markets, home delivery programs and community-based partnerships. Their work spans more than two dozen communities...

Residents of Quebec, Canada, Marie-Claude Boucher and her husband, Brian McManus, have longstanding family ties to the Worcester area. Recently, Marie-Claude, as well as Brian’s mother, Ettie McManus, both turned to the expert physicians at UMass Memorial Medical Center after facing complex health challenges.

For more than a year, Marie-Claude struggled with severe back pain, numbness in her hands and feet, and a series of inconclusive diagnoses from local neurologists and specialists. As her symptoms worsened, Brian — who had previously received routine cardiac care at UMass Memorial Medical...