The Full Yield, Inc. Launches Breakthrough Collaboration to Put Food Back at the Heart of Healthcare

DANVERS, Mass., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's first fully integrated collaboration between the food and healthcare industries to simultaneously improve health and reduce healthcare spending has been launched by The Full Yield, Inc., www.thefullyield.com.  The Full Yield rolls out in greater Boston this month in an initially exclusive partnership with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the top ranking commercial health plan in the U.S., and an inaugural partnership with Roche Bros. Supermarkets, a progressive food retailer.  The Full Yield will be available later this year in other supermarket chains in New England and the company will begin nationwide expansion in 2011.

"America is suffering from and paying for a refined foods diet," said Zoe Finch Totten, The Full Yield founder and CEO.  "This observation is no longer new, but our collaborative model for addressing the problem is very new.  Not only do we make it easier for people to recognize, access and eat healthier foods and to adopt the lifestyle behaviors essential to better health and productivity, we do so in a way that can ultimately unify every individual, organization, community, and industry around improving public health, which in turn will improve our economic and environmental health.  This is not about or for any one player; it is about unifying all parties to correct a complex and systemic problem affecting every single one of us."

Working with health plans, employers, healthcare providers, food manufacturers, food retailers, and food service operators, The Full Yield provides two programs to improve health: the Right to Eat™ Store Program, which guides consumers in making health-supporting purchasing decisions and reinforces the health and wellness initiatives and related private label products of all participating retail chains, and The Full Yield™ Program, a 12-month comprehensive and scientifically validated wellness program for individuals to improve and preserve health.  More than 50% of the U.S. population suffers from and is paying for chronic disease caused by diet and lifestyle choices; participants in The Full Yield™ Program can expect to measurably improve their health, reduce their reliance on medication, and improve their quality of life as they age.

The Full Yield™ Program includes:

1. Health-Supporting Food Prescription: A list of health-supporting and health-depleting foods is available for members and educational information is available on-line and throughout Roche Bros. and Sudbury Farms stores.  In addition, the company offers fresh, natural prepared meals and snacks to use while learning to cook with health-supporting foods, or when convenience matters most.  All Full Yield meals and snacks meet the nutrition guidelines established by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Diabetes Prevention Program, the National Institutes of Health, and the USDA.
2. Help and Support: Personalized phone support from coaches trained in a method clinically proven to result in long-term behavior change.
3. Biometric and behavioral monitoring: Clinically validated health status surveys and online tracking throughout the 12-month program help participants understand their cardiometabolic health status and monitor their improvement.  Biometric monitoring includes total blood lipid profile (total, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides), fasting insulin and hemoglobin A1c, C-reactive protein, blood pressure, waist circumference, weight and BMI, and % body fat.
4. Exercise:  Individual and team-based programs and pedometers help participants engage in walking or other purposeful physical activity equivalent to 10,000 steps per day.
5. Tools for Healthier Living: Program participants have access to a differentiated online suite of interactive tools, including the behavioral and biometric tracking applications, social networking to facilitate and supporting behavioral change, educational and cooking videos, and a database of recipes, menu plans, and meal plans that meet the company's nutrition criteria and food prescription.

"Harvard Pilgrim is very proud to be breaking new ground in our partnership with our employers and The Full Yield," said Judith Frampton, RN, Vice President of Medical Management at Harvard Pilgrim.  "As our country grapples with critical issues like the cost of care and access to services, we must remember that 75% of employers' health care costs are the result of lifestyle-driven disorders.  The evidence is clear: the single most important way we can improve our health is to improve the way we eat."  In addition to offering the program to their own employees, Harvard Pilgrim insured employers, including John Hancock, The City of Boston, Draper Laboratory, and Abt Associates, as well as Roche Bros., are some of the companies offering the Full Yield Program to their employees.

As part of the Boston launch, a clinical trial will be conducted using confidential, detailed analyses of the biometric, health status and healthcare utilization data for the initial program population. The trial will be conducted using a matched control group with no exposure to either the wellness or the in-store programs. The Full Yield is committed to rigorous analyses of program outcomes to provide evidence that a positive shift in diet quality and lifestyle choices yields strong health benefits and healthcare cost reduction.

The Full Yield™ Meals and Snacks are available at Roche Bros. and Sudbury Farms stores, through the Roche Bros. e-commerce site for home delivery, and at select worksite cafeterias. All 18 Roche Bros. and Sudbury Farms stores are featuring The Right to Eat™ Store Program and The Full Yield's co-branded new line of fresh, natural meals and snacks.

"We see it in our stores every day.  It's time for America to get healthy," said Gary Pfeil, President of Roche Bros.  "The Right to Eat™ Store Program will cut through the noise and make it easier for our shoppers to make more informed choices about what they eat, and for our associates, The Full Yield is the most comprehensive and accessible program we've ever considered."

Harvesting a full yield

The Full Yield, Inc., is committed to improving public health by making high-quality food, high-quality behavioral support, and high-quality education about food and health systemically sustainable. The company takes its name from farmers: if you start with high-quality seeds, protect your soil to maintain its inherent richness, water when necessary, and get lucky with the weather and the bugs, you will get a full yield -- the greatest crop those seeds can produce.

Individuals can sign up for the program online or through participating employers.  Harvard Pilgrim accounts, please contact your account representative.  Non-Harvard Pilgrim employers, please contact The Full Yield directly at [email protected] or at 978.739.1500.

For further information visit The Full Yield at www.thefullyield.com.

SOURCE The Full Yield, Inc.