Our network of Greenmarket farmers markets, Farmstands, and Fresh Food Box sites, coupled with GrowNYC Wholesale, ensures that all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, healthiest local food.
Although New York City is widely recognized as one of the food capitals of the world, nearly half of all city residents live in neighborhoods with serious rates of diet-related illness and significant barriers to access healthy foods. While Greenmarket aims to serve all New Yorkers, special projects and partnerships with city government and community-based organizations ensure that we are reaching our most vulnerable residents who cope with food insecurity and diet-related illness.
Health Insurance Companies Provide Over-the-Counter (OTC) Options for Healthy Foods
Healthfirst OTC Plus and Humana Healthy Options insurance members enrolled in select plans (listed below) can use their over-the-counter (OTC) dollars to purchase items at GrowNYC Greenmarkets, Farmstands, and Fresh Food Box sites.
Simply bring your OTC card to the site coordinator at any of our food retail sites. If you are at a Greenmarket, the manager will swipe your card for any amount in $2 incremenents, and you will be provided with Greenmarket Bucks (worth $2 each) in exchange. The Greenmarket Bucks can be spent on fruits and vegetables throughout the market. All farmers selling fruits and vegetables accept Greenmarket Bucks. If you’re visiting a Farmstand or Fresh Food Box, simply use your OTC card to pay directly for the items you’ve selected.
OTC member plans accepted at GrowNYC Greenmarkets, Farmstands, and Fresh Food Box locations:
| Insurance Company | Member Plan |
| Healthfirst | Life Improvement Plan (LIP) D-SNP HMO |
| Healthfirst | CompleteCare D-SNP HMO |
| Healthfirst |
Increased Benefits Plan (IBP) HMO |
| Humana | Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan D-SNP HMO |
| Humana | LI, Staten Island, and Bronx D-SNP HMO |
| Humana |
Bronx D-SNP LPPO |
Fruit & Vegetable Rx
The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program is a collaboration between the New York Presbyterian Ambulatory Care Network’s Nutrition Department, the Choosing Healthy and Active Lifestyles for Kids program (CHALK), and GrowNYC. Registered dieticians at five outpatient clinics at New York Presbyterian Hospital provide patients with a prescription good for $20 in Greenmarket Bucks to be used for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables at participating Greenmarket locations. The program operates between June and November. Fruit and Vegetable Prescriptions can be redeemed at the Fort Washington Greenmarket , 175th Street Greenmarket, the Inwood Greenmarket and the Lincoln Hospital Greenmarket.
Learn more about Fruit & Vegetable Rx and other CHALK programs.
Pharmacy to Farm
GrowNYC partnered with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and sixteen independent pharmacies to pilot a pharmacy-based fruit and vegetable prescription program. The program was funded by a Food Insecurity and Nutrition Initiative (FINI) Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture and aimed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among SNAP participants. To participate in the program patients had to be 18 or older, take medication for high blood pressure, and use an EBT card for SNAP. Each month that a patient filled a prescription for high blood pressure medication at a participating pharmacy, they received a “prescription” worth $30 in Health Bucks redeemable at a Greenmarket location partnered with the pharmacy.
To learn more about Pharmacy to Farm Prescriptions, visit the Health Bucks website.
