When a family doesn't have the resources to put nutritious food on the table, providing a bag of groceries just answers an immediate problem. The Food as Medicine program takes a broader approach that includes nutrition education for families and activities for kids so they're learning about healthy food while having fun. And it happens right where the kids receive their healthcare: The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Primary Care Center, Norristown.

The program began when social worker Victoria Armstrong saw Norristown families facing food instability coming out of the pandemic. Learn More

The Food as Medicine family sessions teach children about the full cycle of vegetables — from garden to kitchen to plate — and nutrition's role in healthy growth and development.

Families Enrolled in Food as Medicine receive:

• Weekly delivery of fresh produce May through November, complete with info on what's in the box and recipes to try
• Twice monthly delivery of nonperishable groceries
• Monthly family sessions with exercise, story time, gardening, cooking demonstrations and dinner
• Cooking equipment that includes cutting boards, knives, grater, pots, pans and more, plus a cookbook of family-friendly, healthy fare
• Monthly children's book related to gardening or healthy eating
• Yoga mat and water bottle for each child

Community partners that support Food as Medicine:

• Cutloose Cares and leaders Jordan and Emily Deane
• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which provided the on-site garden, cooking demonstrations and weekly produce boxes
• Martha's Choice Marketplace, a Catholic Social Services food pantry in Norristown
• Norristown-area restaurants
• Reach Out and Read and other CHOP volunteers

• Food as Medicine Program
• Food Pharmacy
• Complete Eats
• Karabots Garden
• CHOP IT UP!