Mobilizing for Farmer Wellness: Mental and Physical Health Programs for Producers

Commodities

Practices

Virtua Health (Virtua) is the largest health system in southern New Jersey and our mission is to help people Be Well, Get Well and Stay Well. We have a fleet of innovative mobile outreach programs that address social challenges affecting health, especially access to nutritious, affordable food, which include Eat Well healthy food access (mobile farmers market, mobile grocery store), pediatric health, and a mobile health & cancer screening unit all serving vulnerable South Jersey populations to improve their health and reduce barriers to care.

In 2022, we created the Virtua Mobile Health Acceleration Project to advance health equity, while addressing social determinants of health by increasing clinical linkages to care using the premise "food is medicine" - the universal construct that good nutrition has a positive effect on every chronic disease. The acceleration project meets both the medical and nutritional needs of infants to older adults by expanding our mobile health presence in the community, having clinical mobile platforms ride tandem with our Eat Well food markets, and training our community health workers to screen for social determinants of health thus increasing connection to care. In 2024, the acceleration project provided 3634 free health screenings.

Virtua will bring the Acceleration Project to NJ farms and farmer-oriented events run by our project partners. Virtua's Mobile Health and Cancer Screening Unit and Mobile Pediatric Services team will travel with our Eat Well Mobile markets to provide access to affordable and healthy food, free health screenings, education and giveaway items.

Virtua Health (Virtua) is an academic health system helping the people of South Jersey by providing the complete spectrum of advanced, accessible, and trusted health care services. As a not-for-profit, Virtua is a pioneer in mobile healthcare committed to the well-being of the community by providing innovative outreach programs addressing social challenges affecting health. We are dedicated to bringing life-changing resources and health services directly to our communities through our mobile health initiatives addressing social drivers of health outside of the hospital: Eat Well's Mobile Farmers Market and Mobile Grocery Store, Pediatric Mobile Services, and the Mobile Health & Cancer Screening Unit.

Eat Well Mobile Farmers Market: To ensure access to good nutrition, a 23-foot bus brimming with fresh produce sells fruits and vegetables at significantly reduced prices in communities throughout southern NJ and offers a 1:1 SNAP purchase incentive. In 2024, the market conducted 515 pop-up shops and processed 15,222 sales transactions; 10% of these sales were from SNAP beneficiaries.

Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store: This is a 40 foot, one-aisle supermarket on wheels. Launched October 2020, this mobile market began visiting low-income neighborhoods to sell, at below-market prices, basic pantry staples, and nutritionally dense food paired with health education and preventative health screenings provided by trained Community Health Workers. In 2024, the grocery store conducted 429 market stops and processed 7,547 sales transactions, of which 23% were SNAP redemption.

Mobile Health & Cancer Screening Unit: MHCSU is a state-of-the art clinic-on-wheels providing 3_D mammography and screenings for cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancer Last year, we provided 1,364 cancer screenings, of which 79% of patients were uninsured. MHCSU also services patients with insurance (Medicaid, Medicare, commercial) with the goal of improving access for everyone in our community so no one is turned away.

Mobile Pediatric Services: Virtua's Pediatric Mobile Services (VPMS) provides children, ages 0-12 in underserved communities throughout South Jersey, with the health services they need including dental and developmental screenings, lead testing/lead poisoning education, flu shots, health education, back-to-school physicals, vision and hearing screenings, community resources and referrals to specialized services. In 2024, VPMS conducted 488 community outings in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties, and served 10,085 children ages 0-19.

Mobilizing for Farmer Wellness will connect farmers and their staff to free health screenings and healthy food throughout southern New Jersey, encompassing Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic and Cumberland Counties.

Objective 1: Virtua will connect the NJ agricultural community to free health and cancer screenings, pediatric development and health screenings, and access to affordable nutritious food.

Activity: Virtua will bring health screenings and education directly to farmers and farm workers by co-locating one or more of our mobile health units with our Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store/Farmers Market at a host farm. The Eat Well mobile market will offer nutritious pantry staples and produce to farmworkers and farmers. We will leverage our relationships with our project partners to endorse and promote services in our diverse communities of farmers. Should additional care be required for anyone using our services, a warm hand off to additional services is provided. To encourage participation, we will also provide "Be Well Bags" filled with health-promoting resources. These giveaway items will include sunscreen, weather-appropriate gear (e.g., moisture-wicking shirts), electrolyte packets for hot days in the field, and other resources to protect farmer wellness.

Anticipated Results: Success is evidenced as 30 farm visits, anticipating 450 free health screenings, 390 healthy food sales transactions, and 3,600 giveaway items distributed in this often-overlooked NJ community.

Objective 2: Virtua will work with the identified community partners to bring complementary wellness resources to farmer-oriented community events.

Activity 1: Virtua will bring health screenings and education to farmers and farm workers by co-locating one or more of our mobile health units with our Eat Well Mobile Grocery Store/Farmers Market at a community event. Pre-identified host sites include RTP's Root Camp 101, NOFA NJ Wellness Days, and FesTomato. Root Camp 101 is open to youth, young adults and beginning farmers learning foundational farming and farm management skills. We will provide Be Well Bags, and disseminate surveys through farmer networks of PPA and NOFA NJ to identify specific barriers to wellness and other resources they'd be interested in.

Anticipated Results: Success is evidenced by 20 agricultural-forward community events attended by Virtua, anticipating 440 free screenings, 320 healthy food transactions, and 3,520 giveaway items distributed throughout this grant's lifecycle.

Activity 2: NOFA NJ will sponsor Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Trainings for farmers and the farmworkers, empowering them to serve as resources to others in their community. MHFA training will be conducted online through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing's directory of certified training. NOFA NJ will also host workshops (provided by Labor-Movement) on farming specific body mechanics designed to increase workforce productivity and decrease workplace injuries. NOFA NJ's Wellness Days will include other training (e.g., farm HR best practices, tractor safety workshops) as informed by feedback from local farming communities.

Anticipated Results: Success is evidenced by 50 individuals completing MHFA training courses, and 140 individuals completing Labor-Movement training.

Objective 3: Southern NJ Farmers will have access to health and wellness resources.

Activity 1: NOFA NJ will design and distribute a printed Farmer Wellness Guide to connect farmers and farmworkers with relevant health and wellness resources in NJ (to be printed in both Spanish and English).

Anticipated Results: Success will be evidenced by 625 Farmer Wellness Guides distributed to farmers and farmworkers.

Activity 2: NOFA NJ will design and maintain Farmer Wellness Resources page within nofanj.org with accessible links to wellness information and relevant service providers.

Anticipated results: Success will be evidenced by the creation and maintenance of the webpage.