CALIFORNIA - Following the 2024 Food as Medicine Summit, the team at AndNowUKnow embarked on a multi-part exploration of the organizations fueling momentum for healthy eating and helping shoppers understand the role nutrition can play in their overall health and well-being. One key player in this equation is SunTerra Produce and the Project Food Box program, which has helped get more fresh produce into the hands of consumers with a focus on mitigating chronic illnesses and health challenges.

“There’s such a prevalence of diet-related chronic conditions, which is a huge driver of the increasing healthcare costs that we’re seeing today,” explains Peter Wells, Project Director for Project Food Box. “I think collectively decision-makers in healthcare and public policy have had to really consider solutions like healthy eating as a way to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease for the population, which has led to programs like these starting to gain traction.”

SunTerra and Project Food Box source, package, and distribute boxes of fresh produce directly from farmers to communities in need with the help of food banks, faith-based organizations, and health networks. The impactful program was born out of SunTerra’s participation in the USDA’s “Farmers to Families” program, which launched in 2020 to offset food insecurity caused by the pandemic. Since then, the project has evolved through partnerships with food banks up and down the West Coast that wanted access to more fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Our program works with growers to find the 30 percent of produce left behind in the fields every day because it's the wrong size or has physical blemishes that don’t make it appropriate for some retail markets,” Steve Brazeel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SunTerra, shares. “Our work with the food banks has expanded to providing medically tailored meals through insurance plans throughout California. Our goal is to not only work extensively throughout the state but to partner with other states that have similar programs to this local-to-local solution, allowing fresh fruit and vegetable producers to have a seat at the table when it comes to healthy food interventions.”

With this evolution into the medically tailored grocery space, Project Food Box’s team of registered dietitians works with eligible members to develop boxes of fresh produce intended to combat chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and more. Each box contains 12 to 15 high-quality items from recognizable brands, along with a card suggesting various recipes and usage options.

By prioritizing quality and freshness, the boxes not only provide nutritional benefits but expose consumers to more fruits and vegetables, creating long-term produce shoppers.

“It really is like an entirely new supply chain we're creating, with a direct-to-consumer approach regardless of location and affordability,” Steve says before diving into the benefits for the supply-side. “We're creating additional revenue streams for growers by addressing that portion of the crop that might not even get harvested in the first place and creating a valuable product that they can receive revenue from.”

As Steve notes, the organization is excited to partner with numerous different, grower-packer-shippers and distributors who want to get their products involved in the program.

“That’s really the opportunity for the industry,” adds Peter. “We're adapting by putting our healthcare hat on and exploring how the healthcare community is helping people understand the importance of healthy eating and enjoying farm-fresh produce as opposed to more highly processed items. It's critical that we seize that momentum and highlight the healthy attributes of our products and the sophistication of a supply chain that allows us to get food out to people very quickly.”

ANUK will continue to explore this movement and its impacts, so keep an eye out for the next update.