CFHL, UC, UCCE Alameda team up with UCSF for Food Farmacy

Green peas, orange carrot cubes and squares of white tofu sizzled as they were stirred into brown rice in an electric frying pan. "Smells good," commented a man walking to the fresh produce display.

Every week UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland gives away fresh produce to patients and community members at its Food Farmacy to improve food security in the community. On Nov. 14, nutrition experts from UC Cooperative Extension and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC joined UCSF colleagues to encourage Oakland residents to eat fresh fruits and vegetables for better health.

Tuline Baykal, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension program supervisor in Alameda County, and CFHL, UC community educators Mercy Mumba, Yolanda Silva and Mariela Wajler showed visitors how to prepare dishes that could be easily made from fresh produce. Mumba and Wajler cooked tofu fried rice while Silva tossed slices of persimmon, dried cranberries and spinach together before drizzling an orange juice dressing on top. They handed out recipes with samples of the foods.

Alexa Erickson, UCCE nutrition advisor for Alameda and Contra Costa counties, was on site to answer nutrition questions.

Community members could choose from a generous array of free leafy greens, cucumbers, red cabbage, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, citrus, red onions, bell peppers, chicken and other grocery items.

Through their collaboration, the UCSF health professionals and UC ANR nutrition educators hope to highlight the role of food in healthy living and California farms in producing healthy living options.

"A partnership with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Clinics presents opportunities for us to expand our delivery of CalFresh Healthy Living, UC education to parents in places they are going to receive health care for their children - making this vital nutrition education more accessible," said Andra Nicoli, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC program and project policy analyst based at UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Nicoli worked with Antonio De Wolk, UCSF's assistant director of content strategy, and Rigoberto Del Toro, manager of the Food Farmacies at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, to coordinate UC ANR's participation in the Food Farmacy.