Putting Clients First
When Kate goes to the grocery store, the first thing she does is pull out her list. Then she grabs a basket and scans the shelves, making selections and marking off her list. After filling her basket and checking every item off her list, she heads to the checkout counter.
This experience is familiar to many, but it isn’t something Kate takes for granted. Before enrolling in the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP), there were times when Kate struggled to fill her basket, especially with rising food costs. But this is no ordinary grocery store. It’s run by Beacon of Hope, one of over 50 organizations that provide health-related social services to eligible NC Medicaid members like Kate.
Located in Madison County, Beacon of Hope provides healthy food boxes and fruit and vegetable prescriptions to HOP participants. Their unique store setup encourages clients to socialize and select the items that best meet their individual and family needs. Clients can choose from shelf-stable pantry items, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, frozen foods, and lean meats. These items are the building blocks of their healthy food boxes, which go a long way toward meeting clients’ weekly dietary requirements.
“I have had many people tell me they’re losing weight and their families are eating healthier because they don’t have to go to the grocery store and be tempted with unhealthy food,” explained Ashley Kurschner, Beacon of Hope’s HOP coordinator.
Product choices rotate frequently. Around the holidays, Ashley stocks the store with clients’ favorites. To encourage clients to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, she creates recipes incorporating available ingredients and hangs them next to featured foods.
“Last week, we had poblano peppers, which were so nice,” Ashley said. “I made recipe cards for stuffed poblano peppers and poblano pepper enchiladas. And I made sure to have all the ingredients for the recipes in the store. I love doing things like that!”
Madison County’s unique landscape makes it difficult for some clients to pick up their food boxes at the Beacon of Hope HOP store in Marshall. So Ashley worked with her staff to create a solution. Now clients can choose to pick up their healthy food boxes from Walmart and Aldi, depending on their preference.
For Walmart and Aldi orders, clients select the foods they would like in advance. Ashley reviews client selections to ensure they meet nutritional guidelines, and she can suggest changes if needed. After an order is approved, clients choose a pick-up time and their preferred store location.
