Mississippi is getting its first food prescription program to help kids eat healthy

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A donation from Amerigroup to University Mississippi Medical Center will launch the state’s first Food Rx Program.

This is a partnership between Amerigroup, Mississippi Food Network, and UMMC.

Amerigroup donated $25,000 dollars to help figure out which kids aren’t getting the proper nutrition they need.

A particular group of pediatricians at Children’s of Mississippi will screen for food insecurities and determine whether the food is medicine program is appropriate for the kids.

Specifically, they’ll look for how many meals kids are eating a day, what kinds of meals, and what’s available to them regularly.

Then, families will get a food prescription to the food pantry supported by Mississippi Food Network inside Jackson Medical Mall.

The challenge is always making sure people have access to healthy foods, doctors say.

Healthy food advocates say Mississippi has one of the worst hunger problems in America; almost one in four Mississippians don’t have enough to eat.

In Jackson, 29% of children are considered food insecure.

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