Four million people in Canada struggle to afford healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. The same, low-income population is at increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes – conditions that can dramatically worsen without a healthy diet.
Everyone should have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their economic background.
With more money to spend at the grocery store, would people with low incomes and chronic disease have a fairer shot at staying well and avoiding complications?
Healthy Food Prescription is a MAP trial to answer that question, and to help argue for major policy change. It’s testing a promising approach to food insecurity and chronic disease inequities: grocery store vouchers prescribed by physicians to low-income patients.
MAP is providing monthly food vouchers to 400 diabetes patients with low incomes in Ontario (GTA), BC (Vancouver), Quebec (Aurores Boréales, Maria, Shawinigan, and Mont-Laurier). Using the gold-standard model of a clinical trial, MAP is tracking how well the vouchers work to reduce patients’ healthcare use as well as overall risk of diabetes complications.
MAP is working to transform how Canada addresses chronic disease
The Healthy Food Prescription trial is designed to give policy-makers the scientific evidence they need to justify major investment in provincial and national food prescription programs. We already know that relatively small investments in improving access to healthy foods could have massive effects on healthcare savings in Canada. MAP’s goal is to guide governments in the best ways to shift investments upstream, and to create better health outcomes for people with low incomes.
