S3 Ep36: Providing Food as Medicine for Underserved Populations—featuring Ashley Tyrner
We know that healthy, fresh food improves health outcomes. But what if you live in a food desert? Or you depend on food stamps to feed your family?
What if you could get fresh produce delivered straight to your door as a benefit of your health plan?
Ashley Tyrner is Founder and CEO of FarmboxRx, a national brand on a mission to promote health equity through nutrition and health literacy.
Ashley’s experience as a single mom on food stamps drives her advocacy in advancing food security and bringing educational resources to underserved populations.
On this episode of HLTH Matters, Ashley joins host Dr. Jessica Shepherd to explain how the concept of food as medicine inspired the creation of FarmboxRx and explore how the company evolved to focus on patient engagement.
Ashley describes how CMS’s emphasis on health equity helped FamboxRx gain traction and discusses the pilot program that proved its value as a care management intervention.
Listen in for insight on how the FarmboxRx benefit helps Medicare and Medicaid enrollees feel cared for and learn how Ashley’s team provides healthy food and promotes health literacy among its members.
Topics Covered
- The challenges Ashley faced in trying to eat healthy on food stamps in a food desert
- How the concept of food as medicine inspired the creation of FarmboxRx
- How FarmboxRx evolved to become a patient engagement company
- Why it was challenging to get health plans to offer FarmboxRx as a benefit early on
- How CMS’s focus on health equity helped FarmboxRx gain traction
- The pilot program that proved FarmboxRx’s value as a care management intervention
- How FarmboxRx promotes health literacy and drives other healthy behaviors among members
- The benefit of having lived what Medicare/Medicaid members are going through
- How Ashley visualizes herself as a disruptor in the healthcare space
- How FarmboxRx’s call center addresses food insecurity through member engagement
Connect with Ashley Tyrner
Connect with Dr. Jessica Shepherd
Resources
CMS Supplemental Benefits for SSBCI Enrollees