America's Heartland

(soft rhythmic music) - [Narrator] Nestled in the heart of San Leandro, California, Dig Deep Farms isn't just about cultivating crops.

It's a food hub with a purpose.

Providing healthy food to those facing food insecurity in the local community.

- It's the only thing that most folks have access to in these areas.

A lot of apartments, a lot of houses, very densely populated without a lot of green space.

- Troy Horton and Sasha Shankar are directors of Dig Deep Farms, which was founded in 2010.

- Currently, Dig Deep Farms has about six different sites in Alameda County.

Leafy greens are our number one grower that we grow year round, specifically collards, and more specifically tree collards.

- We were struggling at the beginning and things like that, but we were also struggling to get the clients.

And so we just doubled down with the Food as Medicine program.

- [Narrator] Food as Medicine is exactly what it sounds like.

Doctors prescribe healthy foods to patients just like they would medicine.

- Sasha and Troy are amazing farmers.

They know the land, they know how to grow the food.

I have full trust in them.

They are the next generation.

- You see how that scales when you just cut 'em and you can pot 'em up and grow a new plant.

- [Narrator] Dr. Stephen Chen often spends time with his farmer partners at places like Dig Deep Farms.

He's the Chief Medical Officer for Alameda County's pioneering Food as Medicine Initiative.

Together, they're creating a holistic approach to patient health, starting with a commitment to regenerative farming techniques.

Then farms like this one partner with local health clinics, prescribing its nutrient-rich produce as a form of medicine for patients living with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

- So hypertension, obesity, even mental health issues like depression.

These are all connected at a root level through our metabolism and how we manage this food in our body, and the food that we use is critical to that.

And so, I think there's that stark reality of our healthcare system is overwhelmed by chronic conditions and we need to do something different.

- [Narrator] Dr. Chen hopes this effort not only helps people in Alameda County.

The shared goal is to make this a model for health providers across the US.

- So, my prescribing you this medicine is gonna have all these co-benefits just by that single act.

Human health, economic health, climate health, health equity, and racial equity.

- Another name for this Food as Medicine approach in Alameda County is Recipe4Health, aptly named.

- Like any recipe, it has ingredients.

And our Recipe4Health has five ingredients.

The first one is our safety net health centers.

Here in Alameda County, we have partnerships with five different healthcare organizations in the most vulnerable sections of our community.

These federally qualified health centers become the main place where this medicine is happening because they're serving the most vulnerable in our communities.

Folks who lose insurance, folks who are poor, and they're providing great care.

The second ingredient is our Food Farmacy, spelled F-A-R-M-A-C-Y.

It's our farm and our food hub, the food delivery and the food production.

Our third ingredient is our what we're calling a Behavioral Pharmacy.

So just think about that as the place where you can get support, behavioral and nutrition support to amplify the effect of the food.

The fourth ingredient is our Medi-Cal Health Plan or our Medicaid Health Plan for other states.

This is the funding source, so that allows our patients to receive this like any other medicine, free of cost.

And then, the fifth and most important ingredient is our Recipe4Health Team, which is our administrative and training hub to train all the doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners on how to use Food as Medicine to treat, prevent, and reverse chronic conditions.

(tranquil music) - [Narrator] While much of this produce is delivered right to patients' homes, some is also provided to nearby food banks for easy pickup by others seeking free healthy food.

- [Delivery Guy] Happy holidays.

Have a good day.

Take care.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, back at the farm, Troy, Sasha and Dr. Chen continue their mission of growing and sharing the bounty from this urban farm.

Proud of what they're doing, but acknowledging there's still much more work to be done.

- In the beginning, folks would tell us that what we're doing would not work, that you could not get produce, food as medicine, but it's happening now.

- You just take small steps and small solutions.

You can make it happen over time, but it doesn't happen overnight.

- It's in its early days, I would say.

We have a lot of work to do.

But my hope is that this template, this recipe with these ingredients can be expanded and replicated across the nation.

(soft ambient music)