Some of the produce selection in a weekly delivery box for the We Can Cook initiative. (Photo courtesy of We Can Cook initiative)

Lydia Seymour is raising “two beautiful Black babies here in Philadelphia”.  It’s what led her to her current role as Community Action Network Manager at the Philadelphia Department of Health, within the division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health. 

Seymour and her team are exploring what supports a person’s perinatal health (the time before, during, and after giving birth) and what environmental support encourages the best birth outcomes. 

Philadelphia’s infant mortality rate is nearly 40% higher than the national rate, and Philadelphia’s rate of pregnancy-related deaths from 2013 to 2018 was approximately 20 per 100,000 live births, which is higher than the 2018 national rate of 17.4 per 100,000 live births.

Birth workers, maternal health advocates, and public health experts throughout the city are collaborating with birthing people and those with lived experience to develop solutions. 

We Can Cook hopes to be one of the solutions.

We Can Cook is one of the initiatives of PhillyCAN, an umbrella organization and broad sector coalition that brings together people working in insurance, policy experts, public health advocates, other stakeholders, and, most importantly, lived experience experts. They are all working on solutions to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of their families. 

The program emerged from PhillyCAN’s three working groups: holistic mental health care, a holistic approach to anti-racism in maternal health care, and chronic conditions. 

Seymour works alongside Sonia Warwick, the Program Coordinator for the We Can Cook program. Warwick is a pediatrician specializing in public health.

Together, they are working on the We Can Cook team to deliver fresh food to pregnant Philadelphians weekly.

“It’s sort of this multi pronged initiative at this stage where, yes, it’s all about bringing the fresh, nutrient dense food to families, but (also) building this network of support around it to provide relevant, holistic support that centers the needs and experiences of pregnant people,” said Warwick.

Conversations in the chronic conditions group pointed to reducing stress for birthing people and supporting access to fresh foods and exercise. They also noted the importance of pregnant people feeling respected and validated during their pregnancy, while discussing their chronic conditions.  

This led to the creation of the first iteration of the We Can Cook program in 2023. They partnered with the North Philadelphia Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, where they were able to provide 21 families either warm cooked meals or groceries twice weekly for six months. 

The families loved the program. Based on the qualitative data they received from the first program’s focus groups, they sought to conduct a second round of the program and successfully secured the necessary funding.  

Seymour recalls one participant in the original program saying how it was a blessing to be able to spend more time with their other son while she was pregnant, and receive the food. 

“They were able to incorporate meal prep and learn (about) the new foods that were in the box and the meals that were coming together. And so they were so appreciative of that. And that was something that as we planned, as we thought about this second phase, we said we want more of that.  Because that automatically will lower stress if you’re able to spend more time with your babies,” said Seymour.

The current iteration

Eligibility for this round required that the birthing person be 18 years or older and be in their 20th week of pregnancy or less. 

They also need to live in one of the 11 priority zip codes, based on indicators like food insecurity and higher rates of adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and lower birth weight. Both the 19138 and 19144 zip codes in Germantown were on the list. 

They also selected zip codes that were aligned with their new delivery partner to ensure reliable service to their participants. This time, they partnered with Philly FoodWorks, an online farmer’s market for local goods. 

Philly FoodWorks CEO Dylan Baird said the company was well-positioned to provide the food boxes due to their large variety of foods, which included fresh meat and dairy, as well as the farms they source from. 

Baird makes a point that food giveaways do not and should not have to be low-quality food and an undignified experience. He says it doesn’t have to be food that is about to be thrown out on pallets. 

He wants to make sure that Philly FoodWorks’ low-cost produce boxes, in partnership with community organizations, provide first-class service. 

“So, you know, our boxes are curated. We’re thinking about meal planning. We do a variety of vegetables that are good for cooking, some that are good for eating fresh. We’re not overly repeating items. We’re not just giving you the same item every week. We’re trying to keep it diversified. We deliver in refrigerated vehicles. We send people text messages,” says Baird. 

As of this date, they are currently fully enrolled for this iteration of the program. However, both Seymour and Warwick note that they are currently seeking additional funding to expand the program to more families, and have plans for another round as soon as they are able to make it happen. 

Warwick says another goal is to scale the program to reach all the zip codes in the city, and to demonstrate that “this model of providing nutrient-dense food,  accessible education, and a sense of connection is feasible and genuinely desired by the community”.

Seymour also wants to guide people interested in the program and seeking perinatal support to look through the programs offered by the Department of Health’s Maternal, Child, and Family division.

What participants receive 

Participants in the program receive fresh food delivered to their homes weekly. The boxes include: 

• a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables
• a pound and a half to two pounds of meat
• a dozen eggs
• a gallon of milk
• a loaf of bread 
• some form of dairy – either a quart of yogurt or a half pound of cheese.

They also receive a new Instant Pot when they enroll in the program, which helps with meal preparation and ease, a feature that Seymour says many participants in the first iteration of the program were most excited about. 

Recipes and tips on how to use the different fruits and vegetables in each weekly box are also included.

Warwick says its recipes are provided for inspiration and guidance, should people choose to use them. The We Can Cook team has a relationship with the Philly Food Trust, which has been working for years on food education and nutrition access.

They hope to partner with them on a virtual cooking class as one of the educational components for the program. 

Their goals

Both Seymour and Warwick agree that they want this kind of program to become standard in the way the city and our society as a whole support pregnant people.

“(We don’t want it to be) the kind of program that’s dependent on a grant cycle or limited funding, but it’s built into the way that we support pregnant people in our city. So I think the goal ideally would be to have it embedded into policy in such a way that it becomes a sustainable part of the public health infrastructure. Not just a temporary program, but a long term commitment to equity and perinatal health,” says Warwick.

There’s plenty of evidence, she says, speaking from a pediatrician lens, that nutrient-dense foods high in folate, iron, and omega-3 support fetal development and reduce the likelihood of low birth weight. 

However, having a community that supports you with food prep and alleviates as much stress as possible from daily life is also equally important for the health of both the infant and their parent. 

Seymour mentioned in one of their most recent chronic conditions working groups that a mother with lived experience brought up the new Oklahoma “Food is Medicine” bill, which was recently passed. 

It includes nutrition prescriptions, grocery provisions, meal and pantry stocking, and nutrition education as part of their Medicaid plan. They would love to see this kind of legislation in Pennsylvania. 

For more information on PhillyCAN, the We Can Cook initiative, or the other programs in the Maternal, Child, and Family Health division, please contact Lydia Seymour at lydia.seymour@phila.gov.