Christina Howard

Christina is a 39-year-old mother of twin 8-year-old girls and a 7-year-old son. She works full time, goes to school, and is doing everything she can to build a better life for her family. But inflation has made it difficult to keep her pantry stocked with healthy foods.

"In my situation, where you're a mom of three growing children, nothing lasts long," she said.

Christina and her kids are self-described fruit and vegetable lovers — grapes, strawberries, pineapple, apples are staples in her house. But with a tight budget, keeping those staples on hand consistently has been a challenge.

Eat Well's produce prescription program has eased some of that stress. Signing up was a breeze, she said. She filled out a form, got a call, and had a card in the mail within weeks with benefits already loaded. Using her benefits is easy, too: Christina linked her card to her Walmart app and now picks up fresh produce on her way home from work.

The program has supported her weight loss journey too. Having fruit readily available means she and her kids can reach for something healthy instead of something processed.

"If they start eating healthy at a young age, they'll carry that into adulthood," she said.

"It's $40 I didn't have — and if you budget it right, you can make it stretch pretty far."