Harris County Hospital District Foundation

The Harris County Hospital District Foundation (HCHD Foundation) is proud to announce its 19th Annual TexasMedRun on Saturday, February 5, 2021! Our event is USA Track and Field certified and sanctioned, and will be held in the Texas Medical Center. The funds raised will benefit the Harris Health System, Food Farmacy Program! 

So, what is a Food Farmacy? A Food Farmacy helps patients dealing with food insecurity (without means to adequate food sources) and diabetes. Patients are identified by physicians and referred to the program based on their food insecurity needs and a diagnosis of diabetes.

Patients with documented food insecurity and diabetes with elevated A1C levels (three-month hemoglobin measures above 7%) qualify for the program. Each receives free food including 30 pounds of fruits and vegetables, and four healthy food items like whole-grain rice, beans or meats every two weeks.

Currently, Harris Health System has three Food Farmacy locations at Strawberry and Acres Home Ambulatory Care Centers, and Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) hospital.

“Harris Health System Food Farmacy is a collaborative program with the Houston Food Bank. “We know that if we give our patients the tools — in this case foods — they need to succeed, they will.  We are seeing success and they’re seeing it too. Our hope is that it will show them that they can help in the process of taking care of their health,” says Medina.

About 60% of the 2,700 patients with diabetes in these locations have elevated A1C levels. Patients with A1C levels of 7% or more are at risk for severe nerve damage, kidney failure, loss of vision, as well as life-threatening conditions like stroke and heart disease.

The HCHD Foundation strives to raise needed funds to help make healthcare more widely accessible, especially in areas where there are barriers to these services. It is our goal to raise in excess of $100,000.00 to expand the Food Farmacy Program, including the prescription for fresh fruit/vegetable purchased at Strawberry Health Center, Acres Health Center, and LBJ Hospital Campus, to other Harris Health System facilities.