Photo by Kate Kuhner
Margaret Duriez is on a mission to teach the power of good nutrition. A farmer and entrepreneur, she splits her days between everything from tending to her own farm to organizing chef-curated fundraising dinners to partnering with other local agriculturists — not to mention assisting low-income patients meet their dietary needs.
A West Palm Beach native, Duriez has been making her mark in the community since 2018, when she founded FreshRx with Dr. Marshall Stone, medical director of pediatric surgery at Jupiter Medical Center. Their nonprofit organization addresses nutritional inequality through innovative food programs aimed at increasing access to fresh produce.
Fresh Rx was born out of Lox Farms, an organic practice space in Loxahatchee that Duriez started in 2014 with her husband, Franck Duriez. Initially, the couple wanted to grow organic food for their family, but it wasn’t long before they started selling fresh produce.
“I witnessed first-hand cancer in my family and really came to understand the important role healthy food plays in improving one’s health,” Duriez explains. “That was further substantiated when I started Lox Farms and met people who used the produce we grew there to maintain and regain their health. I was so inspired by that, I knew I wanted to do more,” she says.
Today, Fresh Rx’s “Farm to Patient” program aids more than one hundred oncology, cardiology, neurology and pediatric patients whose diets are a part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The participants are provided with a weekly package of produce over a 16-week cycle.
Together with youth-serving organizations like Rosarian and Palm Beach Day and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Fresh Rx also runs a “Farm to Kids” workshop initiative.
Through gardening workshops, children are taught appreciation for food, where it comes from and the amazing process of bringing food from the farm to the plate.
“We’ve learned that for some of the kids we serve, the produce they take home is the only produce that makes it onto their dinner plates at home,” Duriez says. “That inspires us to keep the programs going."
For information on how to volunteer and make donations, visit freshrx.org.