Diabetes affects the health of millions of Americans, and is costly to manage. In fact, 1 in 5 of our client households have at least one member with diabetes or high blood pressure. To improve the health of our community, we recently launched—with the help of a national grant funded by Cargill—the Diabetes Prevention Pilot (DPP), which aims to prevent diabetes in low-income communities that have a high-risk of developing the disease.
Currently offered at 10 partner agency and Mobile Pantry sites throughout Alameda County, DPP conducts on-site screenings and offers health education options in both English and Spanish. Medically-tailored food packages are also provided every two weeks to those identified as having pre-diabetes, supplementing the food they receive through regular distributions.
Participants may choose to receive text messages, which sends them reminders, nutrition education, and exercise tips. To date, about 60 percent of participants have opted to receive the texts, while others will attend in-person classes.
Through these efforts, DPP has the potential to reduce the risk of diabetes and cost of care.
