ACCI Conference 2024

Veggie Rx is a program that aims to empower diabetic patients with nutritional knowledge and reward their habit formation with vegetable vouchers. This qualitative study explores how Veggie Rx participants enact new practices in the context of resource scarcity. The preliminary findings reveal three overlapping and recursive stages of practice enactment: 1) Resource acquisition: Participants acquire new resources (e.g., nutritional knowledge, vegetable vouchers) through the program. This stage is often characterized by positive responses and a sense of empowerment. 2) Evolution of practices: Participants strategically utilize their resources (both existing and new) to meet their own needs and those of their households. Resource scarcity can limit the effectiveness of program interventions at this stage. 3) Diffusion of practices: Participants share their practices with their social contacts, multiplying the effects of the program. The emergent findings suggest that Veggie Rx can be an effective tool for addressing health disparities, but that it is important to consider the role of resource scarcity in practice enactment.

Author(s): Ada Leung, Nelly Perez, Lisa Weaver, Kayla Rutt, Madeline Bermudez, Christina Scartozzi, Susan Veldheer