photo by: Emma Delk

From left, Amanda Cummins, PA-C, Molly Poffenbarger, Matt Rafa, and Dr. Carol Greco registered participants for the FARMacyWV program at the Warwood Farmers Market on Tuesday.

A local pharmacist is working with a group to give diabetic patients in Wheeling access to inexpensive, fresh produce.

Pharmacist Matt Rafa, market chair of the Warwood Farmers Market, has selected 10 patients for the FARMacyWV program. Each will each receive 25 farmers market “dollars” they can use to purchase produce every week at the Warwood Farmers Market for the next 12 weeks. Along with the imitation money, participants will receive a “prescription” for a one-week supply of fresh produce.

Rafa first heard about FARMacyWV while managing the Warwood Farmers Market. The pharmacist explained that the program was “very appealing” to him because he also believes in using food as medicine.

FARMacyWV began when co-founders Dr. Carol Greco and Amanda Cummins, PA-C, recognized that many of their patients consumed a diet high in processed foods with very little fresh produce. Not only was cost a barrier to purchasing more healthful foods, but many patients had limited transportation, directly impacting their access to a healthy diet.

To increase the availability of fresh produce for patients, the duo partnered with Grow Ohio Valley to create FARMacyWV. They have collaborated with state and local organizations to create the community-led programs in 30 locations across the state.

“FARMacyWV opens up another avenue for medical community members to engage with patients and normalize the concept that food is medicine,” explained Cummins. “Our program is not reinventing the wheel but instead normalizing that what we eat does affect our health and overall wellbeing.”

To help participants integrate what they buy at the farmes market into their meals, FARMacyWV also provides nutrition education and culinary instruction over a six-week period.

“We host a tasting, and I give people recipes so they know how to cook the food they buy here,” said Molly Poffenbarger, a Health Educator at WV Extension. “A lot of times not knowing how to prepare the produce can be the problem because people don’t immediately know how to cook something like a spaghetti squash.”

Rafa will put Wheeling on the FARMacyWV map by collecting biometric data to prove the impact of providing healthy foods in curbing the progression and development of chronic disease. The pharmacist will compare the data he collects at the beginning of the program to post-program data to evaluate the initiative’s effectiveness.

“The main metric we’re looking at is diabetes and the impact that we can have on sugar levels through eating vegetables,” explained Rafa. “Our hope is that this data will prove the positive impact of eating fresh produce for a healthy lifestyle without any sort of medication needed.

“Ultimately, we hope this pilot will prove the program’s value to get more funding to do the program on a bigger scale and get more vegetables into peoples’ hands.”

Cummins and Greco were also very optimistic about beginning the program in Wheeling because this would be FARMacyWV’s first pharmacist-led site in the state.

“Rafa is working from the pharmacist perspective and has handpicked the patients,” said Greco. “Expanding pharmacy-run venues in the state from the success of this trial run would be incredible.”

“It’s great to have a local pharmacist as the healthcare provider in this program,” added Cummins. “His patients trust him, and he knows his community.”

The program founders also believe the pharmacist that runs the program will be the key to its success, as Amanda noted that Rafa is “super-engaged” with the community. He proved his “super” engagement at the opening of the program on Tuesday where he was dressed as Thor to celebrate “Superhero Day” for the kids at the Warwood Farmers Market.

“Farmers markets have always been something very near and dear to my heart,” said Rafa in between taking photos with kids. “Knowing that we can improve people’s lives through the farmer’s market and connect our local farmers to the people who need access to these fruits and vegetables is a dream come true.”