Why the Need for Food Rx as a Part of Baptist Health’s Mission

One of the major impacts of food insecurity is the profound influence it has on the health of the people who experience it.

Social determinants of health — such as access to healthy foods— play an important role in disease prevention, health status, and health outcomes.

Hospitals and health care providers have a unique opportunity and responsibility to address food insecurity to improve patient and population health.

As health care delivery transformation moves toward a population health model that incentivizes keeping people healthy, hospitals and health systems are recognizing the significance of addressing these social determinants of health.

Research has shown that social and economic factors alone can account for 40 percent of a person’s health status.

As part of the Food Rx program, Baptist Health maintains a food pantry at the site of the system’s Barrow Road Center near the BHMC-Little Rock campus.

The food pantry serves patients at the Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, and Fort Smith hospitals as well as AHG clinics, PACE, and visitors at the Baptist Health community wellness centers.

Patients are screened to identify those who are in need of food. These patients will then be eligible to receive a bag of food from the pantry for their return home.

In addition to the three-day supply of food patients will receive from the food pantry, they will also get a resource list of other food pantries and community services that can help them.

Food Rx Also Serves Employees and Families in Need

Food insecurity can affect households with a range of economic backgrounds, older age, disability, and other social conditions ––and some Baptist Health employees among the 11,000-employee population have not been immune to facing these difficulties.

That’s why the employee food pantry has remained a priority within the Food Rx program. Participants receive a wagon full of groceries and supplies that can include meat, vegetables, bakery items, and household goods.

The drive-thru food pantry allows Baptist Health employees in need of food to pick up these groceries on scheduled dates every other Monday throughout the year at the Baptist Health Barrow Road Center located at 900 John Barrow Road in Little Rock.

All employees in the system who may be experiencing food insecurity are welcome.