Bromley-by-Bow Centre is partnering with GPs in Tower Hamlets to prescribe fruit and vegetables to patients in a pilot scheme to help tackle health inequality and food poverty.

Backed by £250,000 of funding from local authorities and Alexandra Rose Charity, this pilot will help determine how well diet-related illnesses and food insecurity can be tackled with the new approach.

Eleanor Wilton, Communications and Project Manager of Alexandra Rose Charity, told Eastlondonlines: “GPs will refer eligible individuals to these social prescribers where they will receive weekly Rose Vouchers. Rose Vouchers can be spent on fruit and veg at participating retailers and markets in Lambeth and Tower Hamlets.”

She added: “The eligible residents will be from households on low incomes and will have health conditions that can be positively impacted by a healthy diet.”

Any GPs in Tower Hamlets signed up to the partnership with Bromley-by-Bow Centre can refer their low income patients to Alexandra Rose Charity if they think they will benefit from the vouchers.

Sir Sam Everington, a GP in Bromley-by-Bow said: “So many long and short-term illnesses deteriorate significantly with a poor diet. A healthy diet can often achieve far more than any medicines I can prescribe as a GP. Therefore, fruit and veg prescriptions are essential in reversing and preventing many illnesses.”

Each person in the pilot will receive six to eight pounds a week in ‘rose vouchers’ for fruit and veg, plus two pounds per week for each household member to spend with local retailers and market traders.

Participants will also be invited to take part in monthly healthy lifestyle group sessions to improve their understanding of nutrition and health.

“Fruit & Veg on Prescription is an idea whose time has come,” said Jonathan Pauling, Chief Executive at Alexandra Rose Charity. He said: “The cost of living crisis is worsening and exacerbating rising levels of diet-related ill health and food insecurity. When calories from unhealthy food are three times cheaper than healthy alternatives, it makes sense that people will prioritise being full rather than being healthy, but this only stores up problems for the future.”

Alexandra Rose Charity has been running a similar project since 2014, helping families on low incomes to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Tower Hamlets currently has the highest poverty rate; 39%, child poverty rate; 56%, and income inequality of all London boroughs. 

GP surgeries in Lambeth are also involved. They can partner with A.T Beacon Project to refer their patients for the same vouchers.