ChaJuana Calhoun, Austin local, looked forward to every week she picked up her personal rainbow: a box of fresh produce with her name on it.
Inside was a promise of the “very best,” with bundles of kale, sprigs of spinach, an assortment of apples, oranges and more.
“I would get so excited every time I would see that veggie box because I knew that veggie box was going to go a long way, and was great for my health,” Calhoun said.
For the 55-year-old, access to healthy food ran much deeper. It eventually became the solution in her fight against diabetes and dangerously high A1C, or blood sugar, levels.
With diabetes affecting the Austin community at a higher rate than the Chicagoland area, Calhoun’s ability to reverse her diabetes became a beacon of hope for others facing the same struggles.
Attributing her success to PCC Wellness’s VeggieRX Program, an initiative providing diabetes patients with a fresh box of produce and one-on-one support, the patient-turned-PCC-employee now hopes to provide the same tools and support to the rest of the Austin community through the program’s weekly drives, running from Feb. 19 to Nov. 20, 2025.
“Diabetes and metabolic disorders are a huge problem in Austin,” said Dr. Moshini Sivasubramaniam, MD, PCC South Family Health Center physician.
Sivasubramaniam realized adult diabetes disproportionately affects Austin — with 13.7% of the population impacted, as compared to Chicago’s 12.7% — after completing her community medicine fellowship at PCC Community Wellness West Suburban Family Medicine Program.
“And a lot of this [disproportionate distribution] has to do with food scarcity and access to healthy foods,” she said.
Ultimately, this lack of equitable healthcare and food access eroded Austin’s needs for a solution. This led to PCC Wellness’s creation: the VeggieRX Program and eventually a virtual telehealth group, the LOV Program.
VeggieRX invites patients every Thursday to pick up a produce box, sourced from Windy City Harvest — an Austin-based garden, at no cost to the patient.
Participants can then also join the program’s support group with a social worker at PCC Austin or Salud and participate in cooking classes to understand how to use the produce provided.
Grant funding from the Builder’s Initiative and the United States Department of Agriculture helps make increased access to fresh food possible, according to Jessica Reuteler, director of care management at PCC Wellness Community Center.
PCC reports that 671 people picked up 4,513 boxes of fresh vegetable in 2024.
Nancy Rodriguez, RN, a PCC diabetes nurse educator, helped Calhoun make the lifestyle changes necessary after she joined the program.
“I was shocked,” Calhoun said. “I couldn’t believe it when the doctor came in [during my three-month visit]. I knew it had to be something good because she walked in smiling.”
Just as surprised, the doctor said Calhoun’s A1C levels dropped 4.6%, which brought her down from being at high risk for complications.
Calhoun saw her life changed in what felt like a blink of an eye, so when the chance to extend the same helping hands to her community approached her, the answer was obvious.
“The fact that I was once a patient, and now I’m an employee of PCC gives me an opportunity to help others,” Calhoun said. “This gives me an opportunity to live my truth…to help every single [diabetic] patient become pre-diabetic.”
Calhoun felt the change through lifestyle interventions, such as insight on implementing exercise and getting routine doctors’ check-ups.
The average provider visits only end up lasting an average of 10 to 15 minutes, Sivasubramaniam said, so supplemental diabetes programming, like social work through VeggieRX and telehealth checkups through the LOV Program, are essential to helping patients with the education and tools they need.
“What we want patients to do is learn how to help themselves when it comes to diabetes,” Sivasubramaniam said.
Learning is exactly what Calhoun did.
“Nancy held my hand through this process, and I really, truly needed her,” Calhoun said. “We all need someone like Nancy when we’re struggling and fighting through diabetes.”
Rodriguez’s groundwork empowered Calhoun to lead the charge in community-based diabetes prevention.
“I know the struggles,” Calhoun said. “I know what it’s like to be on 50, 60 units of insulin every night. I know what it’s like to be on 1,000 milligrams of metformin morning and night.”
Moved to become part of the change, Calhoun’s advocacy and PCC’s support created equally sweeping change through their neighbors and their community leadership’s lives.
“When Alderman Emma Mitts…came up to me [at a PCC ribbon cutting ceremony] and said ‘I really like your story. Thank you for sharing. I need a Nancy in my life the same way you had a Nancy in your life.’”
“This is a chance to help everyone in the community and let them know that this is not the end for you,” Calhoun said. “This is just the beginning, where you have the opportunity to turn your life around.”
Ananya Chankhok is a contributing reporter to Austin Weekly News and a Medill fellow.