St. Helena Parish families can use a free, prepaid card to buy fruits, vegetables

Trinity Velazquez
·2 min read

ST. HELENA PARISH, La. (BRPROUD) – Eligible families in St. Helena Parish can use a prepaid debit card to buy fresh fruit and vegetables as part of a new program.

Fresh Connect is a first-of-its-kind food-as-medicine program for families with children ages three to 17 and are members members of any Medicaid Health plan in St. Helena.

“Fresh Connect works to reduce food insecurity by partnering with healthcare organizations to subsidize the cost of fresh produce,” About Fresh co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Josh Trautwein said.

The program was created in partnership between No Kid Hungry and About Fresh. It is funded by the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Trautwein said the idea came while coordinating a nutrition education program at the Mass General Brigham Health Center 10 years ago.

“The only grocery store in the neighborhood closed, which was devastating to the community. This inspired the original idea for Fresh Truck, our first program where we retrofitted school buses and other vehicles and turned them into mobile food markets which established a linkage between healthcare delivery and food,” Trautwein said.

Fresh Connect grew out of this, and now 600 families in Louisiana will participate in the program.

How it works

After families enroll in the Fresh Connect program, they will receive a voucher or a debit card to buy $40 worth of fresh produce each month.

Each set of vouchers has to be redeemed during the month listed on that voucher. Families who spend more than the amount on that voucher will need to pay the remaining amount.

Trautwein said the money does not roll over and was designed as “a true medical intervention.”

“We want cardholders using the benefit ‘as prescribed’ each month,” Trautwein said.

It can only be used on produce and works for exotic options, such as dragon fruit.

After the card is scanned by the cashier at checkout, the cost of the fruit and vegetable purchase will be deducted from the monthly benefit amount.

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Who is eligible?

There are no income guidelines for eligibility.

“Our enrollment partner No Kid Hungry, a campaign of Share Our Strength, has determined the participating parishes to maximize program impact on food security and health equity,” Trautwein said.

No Kid Hungry said this program operates in six parishes: Washington, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, St. Landry, Acadia and Lafayette.

Fresh Connect has no impact on SNAP eligibility, according to Trautwein.

“All Fresh Connect cardholders can continue to use SNAP uninterrupted,” Trautwein said.

No Kid Hungry is the first Louisiana area organization to offer the Fresh Connect program for families.

Those interested can find more information here.

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