What is Food is Medicine?

Nutritious food is a foundation for good health, and it can also play a therapeutic role in diet-related diseases. Food is Medicine is when a physician or health care provider prescribes healthy food to help patients treat, manage and prevent chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease in a way that is integrated with and paid for by the health care sector.

Food is Medicine Program Interventions include:

Produce prescriptions, also called healthy food prescriptions, which involve clinical teams prescribing fruits and vegetables or other healthy foods to at-risk patients in the form of coupons or vouchers for local farmers’ markets, grocery stores, or mobile markets.

Medically tailored meals, which typically provide home delivery of fully prepared meals designed by a registered dietitian based on a patient’s condition and health needs.
Medically tailored groceries, which provide unprepared foods from varied food groups, including vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy, prescribed by a registered dietitian for patients with diet-related acute and chronic conditions.

Why is Food is Medicine needed?

An estimated 90% of the $4.3 trillion annual cost of health care in the U.S. is spent on medical care for chronic diseases, and for many of these diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diet is a major risk factor.
Millions of people in the U.S. experience low diet quality due to barriers related to access, affordability, and knowledge of healthy foods. These challenges contribute to uneven diet quality and health outcomes, particularly among individuals with limited resources. Health care professionals can play an important role by prescribing nutritious food as part of a patient’s care, helping to address their health and nutrition security.

Preliminary evidence suggests that food is medicine programs may lead to improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare utilization and costs, and increased nutrition security for patients living with acute or chronic conditions.

Learn more at Health Care by FoodTM