West Virginia DoHS Piloting Technology to Evaluate the Impact of Vegetables on Health

“Eat Your Veggies, Children,” spoken by many moms for many years, is now being incorporated into a brand-new WV Department of Human Services technology to evaluate the impact of a program connecting participants with fresh, local produce and nutrition education as a formal part of their medical care plan to address food insecurity and chronic illness. The program is called FARMacy WV: Prescriptions for Produce.

According to its website, FARMacy WV is a program that was founded in 2016 in a partnership between a Wheeling, WV clinic and “Grow Ohio Valley.” Its “Food is Medicine,” program connects healthcare and agriculture to improve community health by combining access to fresh nutritious food with the knowledge to use it to help and prevent chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension here in West Virginia. Their mission is to provide improved access to nutritious, locally grown food, basic nutrition education, and cooking skills to help prevent and treat chronic disease in West Virginia.

Throughout the program, FARMacy participants have been using a Veggie Meter to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diets which can make a difference in their overall health, along with improving fresh food access.  This new technology -the Veggie Meter- now allows “Food is Medicine” programs like FARMacy WV to measure the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables more precisely. That meter uses reflection spectroscopy paired with a non-invasive finger scan, to determine skin carotenoid levels, which are natural compounds that come from fruits and vegetables and serve as antioxidants to help neutralize free radicals.

Veggie Meter

West Virginia is the first state permitted to use USDA funding to objectively evaluate nutrition programs aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable intake among children and adults.

“Data is one of the most powerful tools we have to inform decision-making and drive meaningful change in our public programs,” said Alex J. Mayer, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS.) “This initiative represents another intentional step in West Virginia’s broader journey to strengthen health outcomes and build a healthier future for our communities. Tools like the Veggie Meter help us better understand the impact of preventive programs and demonstrate that improving nutrition access can directly support long-term wellness in our communities.”

Gina Wood is a Registered Dietitian and Specialist with the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program and oversees FARMacy WV in the Mid-Ohio Valley region and recently collected Veggie Meter scores among participants in Jackson County. “Overall, the 23 participants were so curious about the new technology, and once I explained it, they were eager to test it out,” said Wood. “While the results are preliminary, participants significantly increased their scores over the course of the program. At the end, there were proud smiles, cheers, and high fives as they saw their scores improve and supported one another’s progress.”

By combining local agriculture, nutrition education, and innovative evaluation tools such as the Veggie Meter, the Food is Medicine program, like FARMacy WV, continues to strengthen West Virginia’s commitment to preventive health and community well-being. DoHS says it is proud to support efforts that bring together state, local, and community partners to build a healthier future for all West Virginians.