Where did we start?

In partnership with community philanthropists, the Fresh Food Farmacy was launched in July 2016 at Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital* in Coal Township, Pennsylvania. The hospital is located in Northumberland County, which is home to an estimated nearly 22,000 adult residents who have pre-diabetes. Of those residents, 90% don't know they're pre-diabetic. Additionally, Northumberland County has the second-highest rate of long-term diabetes complications in central Pennsylvania.

We began this as a pilot program with just six patients, all diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and facing food insecurity. These individuals were identified as having hemoglobin A1C (HBA1C) levels greater than 8.0. By working with their primary care doctor, registered nurse health manager, pharmacist, registered dietitian, pantry manager/clerk, community health associate and wellness staff, we established a nutritional counseling plan for each individual. Each participant received more than 20 hours of diabetes education with our health coaches, along with enough food each week to prepare healthy and nutritious meals twice a day for five days (10 meals per week). In addition to fresh food, each received a welcome kit including measuring cups and spoons, recipes and nutrition information to use at home. 

The Fresh Food Farmacy was created to deliver the gold standard of diabetes care by providing diabetes education and healthy food in a sensitive, caring and respectful manner. We now serve more than 200 patients and their families and have expanded to serve three locations: Shamokin, Scranton and Lewistown.

See all of our Farmacy locations.

*A campus of Geisinger Medical Center