In elementary school, Kenny A. Joyner decided to become a Marine. His young logic held that Marines must work on submarines, which had become an obsession after a school trip to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), our Health Through Food efforts are making a positive impact across the state. From improving access to nutritious food, to reducing the health risks of hypertension and diabetes, to providing support for community organizations statewide, Blue Cross NC, alongside the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, is a leader in Food is Medicine initiatives. In this video you’ll hear from people driving these programs and people who have been impacted by them.

Partnerships are using produce prescriptions, incentives, and innovation to improve health and drive consumption.

Featuring Peter Skillern, Reinvestment Partners CEO & Dr. Connor Drake of Duke University

A nutrition-focused movement gains momentum. Read the article on Page 34.

“I was struggling with a weight problem. I was on medication, cholesterol medication. My diet wasn’t right. Just eating. Eating and eating and eating a lot of junk food,” says Kenny Joyner, a United States Marine Corps veteran. He consumed four ice cream sandwiches a day, he says, and little to no produce — maybe an apple once a month.

A spate of "Food Is Medicine" studies point to benefits of prescribing healthy food to people at risk of metabolic and diet-related diseases. A JAMA Internal Medicine study found a Rx Food program led to lower blood pressure in patients, which over the long term can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Would Americans be healthier if their doctors were prescribing produce? Our guests have done a study suggesting they would.