Wholesome Wave

Wholesome Wave is a national non-profit established on the belief that affordable access to fruits and vegetables is a fundamental human right. Wholesome Wave's mission is to decrease disparities in diet-related illness and to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and affordable particularly for those suffering from the impacts of racial, ethnic, and income-based inequities. <br>

Wholesome Wave works to decrease disparities in diet-related illness and envisions produce prescript

Wholesome Wave’s FED Framework relies on a deeper understanding of existing community risk factors, identified through data science and direct community interaction. Creating opportunities for communities to have a voice in the design, operations, communication, and evaluation of programs and research protocols will increase impact and drive valuable evidence to inform our policy efforts and help the field learn from our improved best practices. In 2021 and 2022, every staff member of Wholesome Wave participated in 40 hours of professional development focused on racial equity and inclusion. The Yale-Griffin School of Public Health evaluated the leadership development intervention and will publish its assessment in a peer-reviewed article expected to be published in 2023.

Wholesome Wave has a dedicated advocacy team responsible for educating and informing policymakers, healthcare providers, and academic institutions on the impact of produce prescriptions. Wholesome Wave is the lead convener and organizational founder of the National Produce Prescription Coalition.

The impact of the pandemic on BIPOC communities and community members, in tandem with the civil unrest resulting from the George Floyd incident, served to underscore the importance of an equity-centered approach to our work internally and externally. As such, we continued to deepen our efforts through ongoing training on structural racism and implicit bias, using these to inform our FED model and to shape our internal DEI efforts. Notably, through our collaboration with the Yale-Griffin School of Public Health, we have conducted a comprehensive internal training assessment that focused on a “most significant change rubric,” wherein staff respondents had the opportunity to articulate how our racial equity work has impacted them personally and professionally. The results from this survey identified several next steps that include: ongoing facilitated discussions and opportunities to apply the learnings; creation of an onboarding curriculum that incorporates racial equity and anti-racism concepts; and development of a parallel path for the board of directors.