Broccoli, by prescription.

• Position: Food - Brief article

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The usual job of a farm stand is to sell fresh fruits and vegetables. But in Massachusetts, they're doing double duty as pharmacies. Doctors at three health centers have begun writing "vegetable prescriptions"--actually, dollar-off coupons--to be filled at local farmers markets, in an effort to curb obesity in children of low-income families. Massachusetts was the first state to promote farmers markets as hubs of preventive health, in the 1980s, and now 36 states have followed suit. Doctors involved will track how the program affects participants' eating patterns and monitor health...