BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FarmboxRx, a food as engagement company who pioneered offering fresh fruits and vegetables as a covered Medicare and Medicaid health intervention, today announced the launch of a Maternal Health Program. The curated engagement program can be customized to meet specific population needs, and is designed to pair nutritious foods with tailored education that support individuals through their pregnancy journey. FarmboxRx’s Maternal Health Program approaches providing food access and education in a compassionate, culturally relevant, and linguistically appropriate way that focuses on promoting:
- Prenatal and Postpartum Care Visit Compliance
- Postpartum Mental Health
- Newborn and Childhood Immunizations
- Prenatal and Postpartum Nutrition
- Newborn and Delivery Readiness
- Education on Government Support Programs
This program comes at a time when the maternal mortality rate in the United States has more than doubled. In 2021, the rate of maternal deaths that occurred while pregnant was more than ten times the estimated rates for other wealthy countries. Minorities living in America are impacted at a greater scale, with the prevalence of mortality among the Black birthing community reported as 163% higher than that of their White identifying peers. FarmboxRx focuses on enhancing health outcomes for expectant and new mothers by ensuring access to healthy foods and providing condition-specific health literacy in each box. The Maternal Health Program empowers members with information about their health and promotes strategic utilization of other covered benefits. FarmboxRx’s goal is to provide tools for participants to adopt a proactive and informed approach during their pregnancy journey. Similar to other FarmboxRx programs, the key to the success of their Maternal Health Program is approaching each unique situation with dignity and compassion and communicating with the participants in a way that is both culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate.
Building a Maternal Health Program was a passion project for FarmboxRx Founder and CEO, Ashley Tyrner. As a Latina mother herself who was reliant on food stamps and medicaid while pregnant, Tyrner has been a vocal advocate for underserved communities like the one she hails from since founding Farmbox Direct in 2014.
“For many of these women, pregnancy is their first time interacting with the healthcare system in a real and meaningful way,” said Ashley Tyrner, Founder and CEO of FarmboxRx. “It can be incredibly overwhelming, especially when you factor in all of the anxieties that come with being an expectant mother, and all of the emotions that come with being food insecure. For our minority and other vulnerable populations, it is equally important to provide nutritious food and resources that allow them to advocate for themselves and take control of the health and well-being of themselves and their child.”
Since its founding, FarmboxRx has forged partnerships within Medicare/Medicaid and expanded to collaborate with over 80 health plans. Last year alone, the company delivered more than 17 million pounds of fresh health foods to millions of Americans. In December FarmboxRx launched its 2023 SNAPshot of Food Insecurity report. The company surveyed more than 2,000 individuals living on food stamps to uncover the socioeconomic, health and demographic factors that are causing food insecurity rates to skyrocket in the United States. According to the report, the top four contributors to food insecurity in American households today include disability and disease, fixed Income, including social security, age, and single parent. These individuals sought support from solutions like FarmboxRx to address their nutritional needs, alleviate financial stress, and enable them to prioritize other aspects of their lives.
Beginning today, healthcare organizations can partner with FarmboxRx to support expectant mothers with nutritious foods and tailored educational materials to improve maternal health outcomes. To learn more, visit https://farmboxrx.com/maternal-health/.
About FarmboxRx
FarmboxRx is a leading member engagement platform that partners with Healthcare Organizations to improve Member health outcomes via customizable nutrition solutions and health literacy. Since 2014, FarmboxRx has been providing meaningful, scalable, and medically appropriate support to promote health equity and inspire self-efficacy for individuals to attain the highest level of health.
