Produce Prescription Program: The FCS agent in Bertie County collaborated with Partnerships to Improve Community Health to offer farmers’ market produce vouchers to participants of the Steps to Health Take Control classes. A white paper was published in 2022 looking at various programs in the area. The results of the study showed “that many of the highest redemption rates occurred through cooperative extension educational programs, suggesting that cooperative extension may be a good partner in future produce Rx programming”. The study also found improvements in self-reported dietary intake among produce prescription participants. 

Lyonnais, M.J.; Rafferty, A.P.; Spratt, S.; Jilcott Pitts, S. (2022). A produce prescription program in pastern North Carolina results in increased voucher redemption rates and increased fruit and vegetable intake among participants. Nutrients, 14, 2431. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14122431

Sugar-sweetened Beverage (SSB): This study provides several key insights regarding adolescents' perceptions, attitudes, and consumption behaviors around SSBs in NC. First, research on the correlation between low-income adolescents and health literacy is mixed. This study shows that low-income adolescents participating in our workshop discussions had fairly high health literacy regarding the harms of consuming SSBs.

Haynes-Maslow L, Ray S and Giombi K (2022) Perceptions of sugar-sweetened beverages among adolescents in North Carolina. Front. Public Health 10:943295. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.943295