In September 2022, the White House introduced the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to eliminate hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030. This strategy includes the “Food Is Medicine Initiative to Unify and Advance Collective Action,” aimed at increasing access to food-related research and programs. They recognized that achieving this vision would require a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach that ensures the healthy choices are the easy choices.”
It’s no surprise, then, that community-based organizations (CBOs) that address food insecurity issues are—or can be—critical providers of Food Is Medicine solutions throughout the country. In fact, CBOs like those in our Food Club Network have been involved in creating FIM partnerships with healthcare providers such as Corewell Health, Trinity Health, American Heart Association, Michigan DHHS, and local health departments. Food clubs also aim to support Medicaid enrollees with chronic conditions and food insecurity, and to pilot projects that strengthen Michigan’s statewide network and address capacity barriers for members to engage in reimbursable activities.
Food clubs recognize that these initiatives offer cost-effective solutions for treating, managing, and preventing various diet-related illnesses by providing healthy food options. By incentivizing healthy eating and making fresh produce and nutritious items more accessible, Food Clubs incorporate the FIM mindset into consumer choices and enhance customer experience, significantly impacting members’ health and well-being.
Food clubs have also implemented the broader FIM interventions of navigation, provision of food, and educational support. These services include guidance to programs like WIC and SNAP, onsite culinary classes, and financial wellness coaching.
Clearly, our food clubs are actively engaged, resulting in numerous positive outcomes. Nevertheless, these initiatives have faced certain challenges.
The recent article “Food for Thought, A Vision for Generative ‘Food is Medicine’” from Health Affairs, a nonpartisan forum on improving health and health care, states that CBOs in these programs are often undervalued in financial compensation and administrative support, capacity, and reporting assistance. Community-based organizations might find that working toward the FIM mission requires significant energy and resources, which can affect their ability to meet both the goals of FIM and their own local objectives. Their study suggests a new growth plan could lead to success, given CBOs’ strong community roots and ability to offer dignified, relational services.
After the Food Is Medicine pilot program showed that the intervention was linked to reduced food insecurity, improved health outcomes, and lower medical costs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina incorporated Food Is Medicine into many of its commercial insurance products. Philanthropists are following suit, with investors like Rockefeller Foundation, Kresge, Walmart, Sunflower Foundation (Kansas), and NY Health Foundation supporting the FIM efforts. Public and private funding for Food Is Medicine is growing.
The article also outlines three key aspects for a generative approach to CBOs leading Food Is Medicine initiatives:
- Food Is Medicine interventions are most impactful when they focus on CBOs and local food systems, with funders and health care partners providing resources to build necessary capacity and infrastructure.
- Food Is Medicine programs compound their impact when they source from local farms and invest in food hubs for accessibility.
- In most parts of the country, the infrastructure to deliver Food Is Medicine does not exist. Funders can collaborate with local stakeholders to help CBOs and local farms work with vendors, health systems, and payers on development and implementation. Centralizing functions like program administration and contracting with health care organizations can also ease the burden on CBOs and local food producers. Possible choices include regional nonprofit Food Is Medicine networks, national Food Is Medicine vendors collaborating with local food providers, or a combination of both.
FIM initiatives differ by locale based on resources and priorities but share several core elements for success. Policy and practice based on those common components will help shape dynamic and collaborative programs:
- Payers and health systems partner with local CBOs or ensure their vendors prioritize CBOs and local farms.
- Food Is Medicine vendors partner with CBOs and prioritize local food to better serve their communities.
- Philanthropic organizations drive forward Food Is Medicine by supporting models, providing infrastructure funding, promoting health care/CBO partnerships, and encouraging multi sector collaborations.
- More evaluation is necessary to establish payment rates that allow CBOs to provide Food Is Medicine programs without hindering their service to uninsured and underinsured groups. Further research can measure the community benefits of successful Food Is Medicine models.
It’s clear that while Food Is Medicine programs improve participants’ health, they can unintentionally drain resources from CBOs. Policy and practice changes are needed to create supportive partnerships among CBOs, payers, health systems, and vendors. Whether working in an established CBO/FIM partnership or looking to form one, these recommendations can serve as a basis for discussions on further development and improvement.
