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CareSource donates $50,000 to Grady program that launched 'food pharmacy'

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  December 2, 2022 6:18am EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

She says she dropped 62 pounds without ever having to diet

Marcia Cole says people would be a lot healthier if they thought of the food they choose to eat as medicine. She now owns a brand new "food pharmacy" outside of Grady Hospital that used to be a McDonald's.

ATLANTA - A Medicaid program is providing new funding to help grow Grady Health System's fresh food initiative. 

CareSource is donating $50,000 to the Food as Medicine program. The Jesse Hill Market hosts cooking and nutrition lessons and provides healthy ingredients to Grady patients, referred by providers. 

CarSource said the program helps address the problem of food insecurity in the city.

"The importance of food in health and wellness cannot be understated and improving accessibility to nutritious meals can increase positive health outcomes," said John Haupert, president and CEO of Grady Health System. "We are proud to partner with CareSource in our ongoing mission to address one of the key social determinants of health."

The market is part of a partnership with Open Hand Atlanta and Atlanta Community Food Bank. 

"When I walked in here I said, you would never know it used to be McDonald's!" one patient told the FOX Medical Team. "But, yeah, I changed everything. I don't eat fast food anymore."

More than 100 participants have graduated from the teaching kitchen program since it opened in August 2020.