Produce-prescription programs may be innovative, but traditionally have operated on a small scale. A Boston-based company wants to change that with a card-based solution that could get millions more people using the prescriptions.
The solution from About Fresh taps into existing card processing systems, making it much easier for end-users, retailers and administrators to take advantage of the programs (in which doctors write “prescriptions” for healthy foods that can be redeemed at farmer’s markets or grocery stores). Recently, the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit DC Greens launched a pilot of the solution, which is called Fresh Connect, featuring a Visa debit card that looks and acts like a regular payment card but is designed specifically for produce prescriptions.
“The Fresh Connect card just breaks down so many barriers,” says Luisa Furstenberg-Beckman, Produce Prescription Program Manager at DC Greens, which seeks to advance food access and health equity in the nation’s capital.
DC Greens’ pilot focuses on families with children between the ages of six and 12 enrolled in Medicaid. Currently, pilot participants use their Fresh Connect cards at Giant supermarkets in Washington, D.C., but will soon be able to go to Giants outside the District, as well as area Walmarts and Safeway supermarkets.
The ability to expand beyond a single store or retail chain lies in Fresh Connect’s retailer-agnostic design, which runs on an existing payment platform operated by FIS Global that many retailers – from large supermarket chains to corner stores to farmers’ markets – already use. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS Global, a leading provider of payment processing technology, already processes 70% of the nation’s electronic benefit transfer transactions, such as SNAP and online SNAP, noted Josh Trautwein, CEO of About Fresh.
By building Fresh Connect atop existing payment technology, About Fresh can greatly expand the solution’s reach. More retailers, in turn, makes for a better participant experience. The upshot: “About Fresh has the ability to make a significant impact for millions of people,” Trautwein said. The company, which also operates a mobile food truck in the Boston area, has a mission to get food to people in ways that are “dignified, flexible and really, really convenient,” he added.
Fresh Connect’s approach also makes the administration of produce-prescription programs much easier. Traditionally, tracking enrollments and maintaining records require administrators to piece together existing tools, such as spreadsheets and databases. Fresh Connect makes everything easier with streamlined up-front enrollments, back-end data management, and centralized customer support.
Typically, Furstenberg-Beckman noted, store loyalty cards need to be reloaded in person, and figuring out remaining balances can be challenging. “Someone is not going to take two buses to find out they have $5 left on a benefit. It’s a barrier,” she said.
Under the pilot, participants receive their card in the mail, call to activate it, have their balance automatically refreshed the first day of each month, have a number to call for cardholder support, and can check their balance at any time. “That is game changing in terms of accessibility and planning,” said Furstenberg-Beckman.
Fresh Connect is in compliance with HIPAA health information privacy requirements, which is a valuable design feature for food nonprofits that are interested in taking advantage of Medicaid funding for nutrition support, but are concerned about working with health records. Trautwein called HIPAA compliance a “foundational” feature of Fresh Connect. “We can’t possibly attract meaningful Medicaid investment without HIPAA-compliant infrastructure being in place,” he noted.
Furstenberg-Beckman urged food banks looking to become involved with produce-prescription programs to consider supporting existing efforts. “We don’t necessarily need more programs,” she said. “How do we see the programs that are already happening and how do we collaborate with them? How do we support them, build them up to have a higher reach?”
About Fresh is also all-in on collaboration. “We’re hoping Fresh Connect can become the technology to strengthen the partnerships between food banks, other community-based organizations, and healthcare systems that want to invest in the community and people that they serve,” said Trautwein. – Amanda Jaffe
Amanda Jaffe is a writer and former attorney with a deep interest in organizations and mechanisms that address food insecurity. Her writing has appeared in The American Interest, PASSAGE Magazine, and the Finder, among other publications.
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