The Problem:

In Connecticut, 6.3 million people live below the poverty line, while over 516,000 residents struggle with hunger and food insecurity, which are on the rise. Having limited access to affordable, nutritious food can be especially detrimental for pregnant women and their children. Low-income women are more likely to experience adverse health outcomes during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, or preeclampsia, which are worsened when faced with systemic barriers to accessing and affording healthful foods and other basic needs. 

These negative health impacts not only affect the mother but have significant, downstream effects on their child’s short- and long-term growth and wellbeing. Babies born to food-insecure or low-income mothers are at greater risk of being low birthweight, preterm, or experiencing developmental delays.

A critical time window that defines a child’s future well-being is within the first 1,000 days of life, and research has shown that nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood significantly impacts a child’s capacity to grow, learn, and thrive, including into adulthood, while lowering the need for additional medical care that often continues throughout life. 

The Solution:

We started Food4Moms with three main goals:

  • Provide fresh fruits and vegetables to under-resourced pregnant moms in Connecticut, along with the nutrition and food preparation education

  • Implement world-class research that can quantify the improved health outcomes and inform policy decisions

  • Quantify best practices for the design, implementation and measurement of maternal produce prescription programs

Our nearly 20 years of leadership in produce prescription programs allowed us to build a network of partners to bring expertise in all key areas. Partners include Yale School of Public Health, Tufts University Food is Medicine institute, Hispanic Health Council, Connecticut Community Health Centers, Elevance Healthcare, Point32 Health Insurance, Fresh Connect and local grocery stores Food Bazzar.

We co-designed the program with input from pregnant moms using FED Principles. We also gained access to medical records and are conducting a series of during and post-program interviews. This rigorous approach has resulted in successful implementation in Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut’s two poorest urban centers with the highest poverty and nutrition insecurity populations.

The Results (so far)

Delivering Impact, Defining Success

Some early results from our first pilot in Hartford include

  • Much higher than normal redemption rates for the monthly produce credits

  • Higher birth rates and lower rates of premature births

  • Self-reported feelings of improved health and increases in fruit and vegetable consumption among the entire family

Our partners at Yale are accumulating data and will compile a complete research report to be released soon

Research & Programs

Food4Moms is a multi-year Produce Prescription program designed for low-income pregnant women in Connecticut. Learn more about how Wholesome Wave and our partners are improving maternal and infant health outcomes, while defining best practices and generating critical evidence to inform policy and improve the effective impact of all maternal food as medicine programs.

OneKitchen is a national network that provides chef members with education, mentorship, and support resources to enhance their advocacy skills in the real world. Together, we gather partner organizations and stakeholders around one table with one vision: to create a better world through food.

Whether leading a restaurant, corporate cafe, food truck, or college dining hall, at OneKitchen, all chefs are champions of building a healthier, more vibrant food system.