FIMC Advances Food Is Medicine Advocacy Efforts at Mid-Year Convening In Washington, D.C.

FIMC Member Agencies from across the country joined staff in Washington, D.C. in February 2024 to advocate for our policy priorities, participate in peer working  sessions, and learn from key leaders in the field.

FIMC welcomed esteemed guests to speak with coalition members, including:  

• Gina Plata-Nino, Domestic Policy Council (DPC) 

• Sheila Fleischhacker, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

• Rachel Fisher, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), HHS 

• Dr. Andrew Bremer and Dr. Nicholas Jury, Office of Nutrition Research, NIH 

• Dr. Anand Parekh, Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) 

• Sarah Downer, Center for Medicaid and Medicare Innovation (CMMI) 

FIMC Hill Day: FIMC agency staff also heard from Congressional champions, Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME), before a day of advocacy on the Hill. 

What they said: The representatives acknowledged the contentious Congressional environment while spurring on advocates to continue coordinated efforts to increase equitable access to the lifesaving medically tailored meal (MTM) and grocery (MTG) interventions. It was incredible to hear about the progress of the FIM movement from their viewpoint and how much we still have left to do. We are so grateful for their leadership and unwavering advocacy for food is medicine. 

FIMC agencies then met with their own members of Congress, highlighting the important Federal policy priority areas for FIMC in the 118th Congress. Thank you to our attendees for their advocacy work.   

Go deeper: Following our mid-year convening, Representative McGovern released this Civil Eats op-ed, Can Healthy Meal Delivery Reverse Chronic Illness in Seniors?  

Yes! Research shows better diets can prevent and even reverse chronic illness, saving billions of dollars and helping countless patients. The bipartisan, bicameral Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meals Demonstration Pilot Act could help.  

Food Is Medicine Coalition Supports the Bipartisan Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meal Demonstration Pilot Act

Today, the Medically Tailored Home-Delivered Meal Demonstration Pilot Act was introduced in the House as (H.R. 6780), making this proposal - for the first time - both bipartisan and bicameral. This bipartisan bill would establish a Medicare pilot program to address the critical link between diet, chronic illness, and the health of older Americans. We are so grateful to food is medicine champions and cosponsors of the bill Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).  

As a national coalition of nutrition service providers, FIMC members provide a complete, research-based, medically tailored meal intervention to people living with severe, complex and chronic illness in their communities. Medically tailored meals are designed by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and use food as an evidence-informed intervention to both treat and manage illness. Research conducted by the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy shows if all eligible patients received access to MTMs, in just the first year of service 1,594,000 hospitalizations could be avoided for a net cost savings of $13.6 billion. 

Despite advances in research and healthcare contracting – led by FIMC – there are still gaps in access to this powerful disease treatment across the country.  

Medicare Parts A and B do not pay for medically tailored meals, despite providing insurance for almost two-thirds of Medicare enrollees. This bill would fill this gap by directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a 4-year demonstration pilot program to provide medically tailored meals to some of our nation’s most vulnerable Medicare enrollees. Recently hospitalized Medicare enrollees with conditions such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, COPD, and kidney disease would receive a medically tailored meal intervention. The program would run in at least 10 states in at least 20 hospitals to test the intervention in a diversity of situations and would help researchers better understand how we can build a more resilient and cost-effective health care system through rigorous analysis. 

The House bill and its companion in the Senate (S.2133) - introduced in June by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) - are key opportunities to support the health of older Americans and food is medicine services in the new year.  

Read the press release here.

Read more about the bill here.

Remembering our Roots

At this moment of tremendous focus on food is medicine, the commemoration of World AIDS Day is a chance for us to pause and consider the origins of medically tailored meals (MTM) and the courageous and compassionate people who created the intervention.

The MTM intervention as we know it today, was a community response to the AIDS pandemic in the mid-1980s. Neighbors, friends and family were dying of AIDS, often alone and isolated, and there was no treatment. Volunteers turned to what they could do in the situation: bring nourishment and hope in the form of food, delivered for free and with care, human-to-human. Because of the nutritional impact of the disease, registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) were involved early on and began creating the foundational principles of what today are our FIMC Nutrition Standards and the integration of the Nutrition Care Process into our services, which form the basis of our robust and care-filled service.

Fast forward 30+ years past the advent of HIV medications, agency mission expansion to serve people living with other diagnoses, the stellar research on the efficacy of the MTM intervention, healthcare partnerships and the current focus on #foodismedicine, and FIMC agencies continue to bring these same values into the service we provide – for free – to those who need it. The cross-sector focus on food is medicine often belies the fact that equitable access to MTMs is still not a sustainably reality for all who need them. FIMC agencies’ foundational commitment to serve people regardless of their ability to pay is more important than ever in this context.

On World AIDS Day, we remember our heritage and reconnect with our values – endured and renewed for new populations and in a new environment, and we collectively pledge anew our commitment to serving our neighbors in need and to advancing policies that expand access to these lifesaving services. Together, we look forward to a world without HIV. 

In partnership - Alissa Wassung, FIMC Executive Director

FIMC Supports the CMS Health-Related Social Needs Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Guidance

On November 16, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced their Action to Improve Health and Wellbeing by Addressing Social Determinants of Health. As part of this initiative, CMS released an Informational Bulletin, including an attached table, that describes the coverage pathways for services and supports to address health-related social needs (HRSN) in Medicaid and CHIP.

The Food is Medicine Coalition, a nationwide coalition of providers serving individuals with severe, complex, or chronic illness, strongly supports this guidance clarifying how nutrition interventions can be deployed in Medicaid 1115 waivers and beyond.  

The guidance resolves several key policies challenges impacting nutrition provision, most notably:

Clarification of the 6-month Service Limit for Nutrition Interventions (1115 Demonstrations): This update expands on previous CMS guidance that limited nutrition interventions covered under 1115 demonstrations to a six-month duration. Now, all nutrition interventions that involve the direct provision of food – “home delivered meals or pantry stocking,” “nutrition prescriptions,” and “grocery provisions” – can be provided for up to six months and “may be renewed for additional 6-month periods if the state determines the beneficiary still meets the clinical and needs-based criteria.” This update follows best clinical practice standards, mirrors the research to date, and enables care teams to employ their clinical judgement regarding the most effective nutrition intervention for their patients.

Other key updates are:

Household Level Nutrition Services (1115 Demonstrations):  Previously, nutrition interventions were limited to the primary enrollee. Now, CMS notes for “home delivered meals or pantry stocking” and for “nutrition prescriptions” that “additional [ ] support may be permitted under 1115 demonstrations when provided to the household of a child identified as high risk or a pregnant individual…for up the duration of a pregnancy plus two months postpartum.” This supports the household-level nutrition interventions approved and provided in Massachusetts’ most recent 1115 HRSN demonstration, showcasing a holistic, patient-driven approach to ensure the nutrition needs of the household can be met.

Home and Community-based Services (HCBS) Authorities for Nutrition Services: CMS confirms that “pantry stocking,” “nutrition prescriptions,” and “grocery provisions” are allowable services under HCBS authorities, which highlights that interventions beyond prepared meals are allowable.

These sound policy updates will improve the health of medically vulnerable Americans across the nation by providing medically tailored nutrition in a clinically appropriate manner. More importantly, by expanding access, we expect that this guidance will work to reduce health disparities and bring down healthcare costs as the wellbeing of recipients improves in the years to come.

We look forward to working with CMS and the Biden Administration to implement the proposed guidance and further invest in programs that ensure people have access to the medically tailored nutrition they need.

For a more comprehensive summary of the updated guidance, please visit the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation’s website.

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The Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) is a national coalition of nonprofit organizations that provide medically tailored meals (MTMs) and medically tailored groceries, medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling and education to people in communities across the country living with severe, complex and chronic illnesses. We advance equitable access to these life-saving interventions through policy change, research and evaluation, and best practices. FIMC agencies created the medically tailored meal model and maintain the nutrition standards for the intervention. We offer a diverse community of learning for existing practitioners and equip new organizations to launch medically tailored meal programs.  

Commemorating the Anniversary of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health

Almost 40 years ago, the agencies of the Food Is Medicine Coalition - the national coalition representing nonprofit medically tailored meal (MTMs) and grocery (MTG) providers - responded with compassion and nourishment to neighbors undergoing the dual crisis of being sick and hungry. This simple act of humanity has transformed into a national phenomenon and was a foundational spark for the present day “food is medicine” movement.

In acknowledgement of the one-year anniversary of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the Food is Medicine Coalition celebrates the unprecedented nationwide recognition of the value of medically tailored meals and food is medicine. In tandem with the Conference’s convening in 2022, the White House released an ambitious National Strategy with the goal to end hunger, promote health and increase access to nutrition across the country by 2030. FIMC was most encouraged to see the strategy’s second Pillar which focused on the power and promise of incorporating medically tailored meals and other food is medicine interventions into healthcare.

In the year since the White House Conference, FIMC has completed strategic initiatives advancing equitable access to MTMs and MTGs through policy change, research and evaluation, and best practices. You can understand the transformative work of our partner agencies by following FIMC on social media below. Some highlights from our collective work include:

Best Practices: The quality of the FIMC MTM model is key to achieving proven health outcomes for the clients we serve. This year, we convened FIMC partner agencies to formalize FIMC Accreditation, relying on the expertise of decades of service delivery to collaboratively develop quality standards for the medically tailored meal intervention. FIMC’s accreditation standards span topic areas across nutrition, client services, operations, and other aspects of high-quality service delivery. The accreditation program will ensure fidelity to the MTM intervention, which is proven to reduce healthcare cost and improve health outcomes.

Policy Developments: Since the White House Conference, FIMC has submitted several key policy comments through our FIMC Policy Committee structure allowing us to clarify standards, definitions, and implementation of the MTM intervention with key decisionmakers. This year saw the introduction of a Senate-side version of the Medically Tailored Home-delivered Meal Demonstration Pilot Act in June. Introduced by Sens. Stabenow (MI), Marshall (KS), Booker (NJ), Cassidy (LA), it makes support for the bill truly bipartisan; and we expect the House bill to be introduced by Reps. McGovern (MA) and Malliotakis (NY) later in the fall, making our efforts bi-cameral as well.

Health Equity: Advancing health equity is grounded in FIMC’s history via the creation of the MTM intervention to ensure marginalized neighbors received equitable access to nutrition care. This year, FIMC has focused on sourcing a community-created definition of health equity and meaningfully incorporating this lens into governance, policy/advocacy, service, and measurement. In partnership with subject matter experts, Health Leads, and with the guidance of our Health Equity Workgroup – made up of clients, staff and volunteers from our diverse agencies – we are engaging the broader FIMC community to help us authentically understand and articulate our place in creating health equity for our clients, with an emphasis on the perspectives of people with lived experience. In the year ahead, we will transform this community-sourced definition into a framework for equitable expansion of services and measurement of our progress toward those goals.

Through education, briefings, national Symposia, technical assistance, policy change and more, we are building nationwide awareness of the need for access to and funding for medically tailored meals and groceries. We are so proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the last year, but are deeply mindful of how much work we have left to do. FIMC remains committed to the vital ongoing efforts to realize a future state where anyone who needs the MTM or MTG interventions has access to the highest quality service regardless of their ability to pay or where they live.

Congratulations Food is Medicine Accelerator Graduates

Today, the Food is Medicine Coalition’s Accelerator Program announced the graduation of its third cohort working to expand access to the medically tailored life-saving health intervention. These nonprofit agencies recently completed the Accelerator’s intensive, year-long program of online and in-person trainings that include learning the operational, policy and contracting mechanisms to become providers of medically tailored meals. 

The Accelerator seeks to help more critically, and chronically ill Americans gain access to medically tailored meals by replicating and scaling the medically tailored meal model in communities across the country. The Accelerator is a partnership between the Food is Medicine Coalition, Community Servings, God’s Love We Deliver, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School and Nonprofit Finance Fund. 

Congratulations to our graduates!

• Treasure Coast Food Bank, Florida

• Providence - A Program of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, North Carolina

• Central Texas Food Bank, Texas

• FISH Community Food Bank, Washington
  

The Food is Medicine Coalition is thrilled to share the agencies selected for the fourth Accelerator cohort. This newly selected group of five nonprofit, community-based organizations will begin their intensive training on medically tailored meal provision starting in August. Congratulations to these agencies working to expand access to life-saving medically tailored meal interventions for their communities!  

• The Joy Bus, Phoenix, Arizona 

• Dare to Care Food Bank, Louisville, Kentucky 

• Meals on Wheels of Western Michigan, Michigan

• Jewish Family Services of Ann Arbor, Michigan 

• The Cleveland Food Bank, Ohio 

The Link Between Nutrition and Brain Health

Submitted by Jed A. Levine, President Emeritus & Director, External Relations of CaringKind, The Heart of Alzheimer's Caregiving, in honor of Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month

In honor of Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, I am honored to share information on the relationship between nutrition and brain health, and as a component of good care.

In Alzheimer’s—where existing treatments are limited and we are just beginning to see new and promising disease modifying treatments that slow the progression of the disease—there is growing focus on the importance of reducing the risk of developing cognitive disorders. There is mounting evidence of the importance of food in maintaining a healthy brain. The FINGER study, DASH study and Mediterranean Diet all point the way to healthy and delicious eating that can keep our brains (and our hearts) in good shape. 

Reducing The Risk of Developing Dementia With Nutrition

In her book Brain Food, Lisa Mosconi, Ph.D., INHC, Associate Director, Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, promotes a holistic approach to brain health with several key principles that are consistent with other researchers:  

• Eat a mostly plant based diet 

• Eat the right fats, in the right amounts 

• Reduce consumption of processed foods, (or avoid altogether) 

• Eat animal products less often and in small portions, focusing on lean meats 

• Enjoy complex carbs 

• Drink water 

• Drink alcohol in moderation, enjoy a glass of red wine.  

It’s not diet alone, but in concert with other healthy lifestyle changes. These include exercise, social and cognitive engagement, good sleep hygiene, regular dental and oral health habits, and using a hearing aid if you have hearing loss. All show promise in reducing the risk of developing dementia.  

But for many with Alzheimer’s and their family caregivers (many of whom are older adults themselves), and who have co-morbid chronic conditions, mobility issues, and financial constraints, the task of shopping and preparing three nutritious meals a day is overwhelming. Many older adults with Alzheimer’s or other dementias and their caregivers are living with long term diabetes, congestive heart disease, arthritis, COPD, and are survivors of cancer, all of which require specific nutritional guidance and support for the best outcomes.  

CaringKind is proud of our longstanding relationship with the Food is Medicine Coalition’s partner God’s Love We Deliver, which provides medically tailored meals to our clients in New York City and Northern NJ. For these families, healthy and tasty meals are welcome and much appreciated, alleviating a source of stress and worry, while promoting well-being. We view home delivered medically tailored meals as another tool in the ‘self-care” toolbox for families caring for a relative with Alzheimer’s.  

Food As Comfort

Something that cannot be overlooked is food as a source of pleasure, at any stage of the disease, but especially as Alzheimer’s progresses and the individual loses the ability to communicate verbally, becomes more dependent on someone else for their activities of daily living and is unable to initiate interaction.

With our partners at Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix, Ariz., we have successfully introduced a palliative care approach to care for those in the advanced stage of disease, with an emphasis on the importance of using food as comfort and a source of enjoyment, when disease prevention is no longer the goal.

If an individual is resistant to care, popping a Hershey’s kiss in their mouth can provide a delicious distraction, and allow the care to take place. Baking cookies on a dementia unit provides a warm homelike aroma, that is comforting and enticing. Using real food, rather than nutritional supplements for those with eating or swallowing disorders is always preferable and more satisfying. It is more important that the person with dementia eat foods that they like, often meaning a liberalized diet, to ensure adequate calorie intake. Offering finger foods and snacks during the day, such as fruit, smoothies, peanut butter sandwiches, puddings and applesauce resulted in prevention of weight loss which is so often seen in the advanced stage.   

Delicious, nutritious food is central to our quality of life, for all of us—including those with cognitive challenges and their caregivers. Home delivered medically tailored meals are an essential component of the network of care and support for families facing the challenges of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.  

To learn more about CaringKind and our programs of care and support for individuals with dementia, their family caregivers please visit www.caringkindnyc.org or call the CaringKind Helpline at 646-744-2900.  

References

CaringKind, Palliative Care for People with Dementia: Why Comfort Matters in Long-Term Care; 2016  

Mosconi, L, Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power, New York, Avery an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018  

About CaringKind

CaringKind, The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving, formerly the Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter, is New York’s trusted partner for dementia care. CaringKind is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 corporation which provides free information, confidential assistance and support for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as for their family members, caregivers, and professionals. Our programs include a Helpline, Dementia Consultation, Social Work Services, Care Partner Education, Support Groups, Early-Stage Services, a Wanderer’s Safety Program, Workforce Development, connect2culture and Research Initiatives. We reach out to the diverse populations of New York City, with our successful community programs to the Latino, African American, Chinese, LGBT and Orthodox Jewish communities. For more than 40 years, our dedicated professional staff has provided compassionate care and life-saving support for tens of thousands of New Yorkers with dementia and their caregivers. Our organization actively advocates at the city, state, and federal level to support related legislation and heighten public awareness.  For more information: www.caringkindnyc.org or 646-744-2900.  

Celebrating Black History: Innovators Who Connected Nutrition and Health

In honor of Black History Month, we are lifting up and celebrating Black innovators that have directly impacted the work we do as a coalition at the nexus of nutrition and health for people with critical illnesses.  

For most of our agencies across the country, food safety and the ability to keep preservative-free, scratch-made meals frozen is a huge priority for our clients, who are often immune-compromised.  

Frederick McKinley Jones, a prolific early 20th century Black inventor, invented the Thermo King in the early 1940s— the first automatic refrigeration system for trucks that still powers many of our refrigerated vans and trucks today. Jones and his Thermo King invention helped to revolutionize the refrigeration and grocery industries. Grocery chains were able to transfer perishable products that previously could only have been shipped as canned goods. As a result, the frozen food industry was born! In honor of his tremendous achievements as an inventor, he was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology. Jones was the first Black inventor to ever receive such an honor. We thank him for the ability to deliver delicious meals safely to our clients in communities across the country. 

Every day, our clients depend on the services of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to help them manage their illness through the power of nutrition. This Black History Month, we’re spotlighting two dynamic women who broke barriers in the field of dietetics. First, Gladys Kidd Jennings, R.D., is a groundbreaking nutritionist who helped change how communities experience food and nutrition. She has won numerous awards for her pioneering work in the field of nutrition and dietetics. In the 1960s, she was one of the first to examine the socioeconomic factors affecting nutritional health in Black communities. Flemmie Pansy Kittrell was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in nutrition. Dr. Kittrell used her education background to change home economics and nutrition, shaping how the fields utilized scientific research and evidence to interact within a local and global context.  

We recognize the advocacy and resilience of Black leaders - like those we featured above and so many others - who pioneered the cause of food is medicine and whose innovation have made our service possible. Today and every day, we stand on their shoulders. 

Accelerating Food Is Medicine | Year 3

The Food is Medicine Coalition’s (FIMC) Accelerator recently held an in-person training at Community Servings in Boston for five nonprofit agencies from across the country that are participating in the Year 3 cohort.

Our Year 3 Cohort is: 

Treasure Coast Food Bank (Fort Pierce, FL)

Providence - A Program of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC (Winston-Salem, NC)

Central Texas Food Bank (Austin, TX) 

San Antonio Food Bank (San Antonio, TX)

FISH Community Food Bank (Ellensburg, WA)

An initiative co-led by Community Servings, FIMC, God’s Love We Deliver, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School, the FIMC Accelerator works to refine, replicate, and scale the medically tailored meal (MTM) model to ensure that people coping with food insecurity and severe illness have access to MTM, regardless of where they reside.

This was one of two multi-day, in-person trainings for the Year 3 cohort. Enrolled cohorts participate in a year of online, in-person, and web-based training on operational processes for starting their own MTM program, which includes instruction on everything from kitchen expansion to financial coaching, distribution, and compliance. Cohorts also receive policy assistance to explore state and regional contracting opportunities, as well as guidance for funding opportunities, particularly for vulnerable populations.

"The resources you shared at the onsite meeting are "fantastic," one participant shared. “The program gave us a "fire" to plan and launch our MTM programs when we return."  At the end of our three days together, we heard a lot of: “This is doable! At the start it was intimidating, but after our time together, we can do this!”

Interested? Come join us. The Year 4 cohort application (2023-24) is open until May 1, 2023.

Have questions? Find our information session here or join the next live one on Feb. 15, 2023 at 1 p.m. ET by registering here.

A Message on World AIDS Day

As advocates for people living with HIV, World AIDS Day is always a time to pause, to be still and to remember our heritage and history as medically tailored meal providers. Many FIMC agencies got their start at the height the AIDS pandemic in the mid-1980s when people were dying of AIDS, often alone or isolated. Add to this tragic situation the lack of medication or relief and the stigma and fear that surrounded the diagnosis, and you have the perfect recipe for a situation without hope.

The neighborhood volunteers at FIMC agencies prepared a different recipe in response. Many courageous hearts in communities across the country stepped into that gap and brought hope and dignity in the form of a meal and a smiling face. There was no cure or medicine yet, but meeting someone with a meal was something people to do, human-to-human, to stem the tide of that awful moment and deliver care.

Fast forward 30+ years past the advent of HIV medications, and FIMC agencies bring those same values into the service we continue to provide to people living with HIV (PLWH) and our expanded services to people living with all life-threatening illnesses, like cancer, cardiovascular disease, ALS, diabetes and many, many more. This day is a time to remember our roots and reconnect with our values – endured and renewed for new populations.

So much progress has been made in the treatment and care someone diagnosed with HIV can hope to receive, yet the epidemic is far from over. Individuals continue to face treatment access issues skewed by structural racism and the disproportionate effect of HIV on BIPOC communities. There is still only one dedicated federal stream of funding for services for PLWH – the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program – which has affected tremendous change but falls short of reaching all who need it. There is still no cure. We have work to do.

And FIMC agencies will do that work. From pandemic to pandemic, we have been and will be there to deliver the healing power of food to people who are sick and hungry. On World AIDS Day, as a community, we collectively renew our commitment to serving our neighbors in need and to advancing policies that expand access to these lifesaving services. Together, we look forward to a world without AIDS.

~Alissa Wassung, Executive Director, FIMC

FIMC Digest: Project Angel Food's Native American Diabetes Project

Improving the health and mental wellbeing of Indigenous People with Diabetes

During Native American Heritage month, Project Angel Food’s Native American Diabetes Project has become the focus multiple news reports on KTLA 5 and KABC 7. The FIMC agency’s two-year study with the USC Keck School of Medicine is evaluating the effectiveness of Medically Tailored Meals, education, and peer support on improving the physical and mental health of Indigenous people with diabetes living in Los Angeles County. The CDC says Native Americans have a greater chance of having diabetes than any other racial group in the United States.

The program, which was announced in 2020 and began trials last year provides diabetic Native Americans in L.A. County a 12-week intervention of Medically Tailored Meals. While results will not be evaluated until the conclusion of the study, early markers indicate a 38% reduction in A1C levels of participants over the first six months.

Watch the amazing coverage of this groundbreaking project below!

Gastropod Podcast: Prescription Dinner: Can Meals Be Medicine?

Join the amazing hosts of the Gastropod podcast, Cynthia Graber and Nicky Twilley, as they explore the world of medically tailored meals in their new episode: Prescription Dinner: Can Meals Be Medicine? Gastropod looks at food through the lens of science and history.

Richard Ayoub, CEO, and the entire team at Project Angel Food in LA – a FIMC member agency – carefully describe the unique intervention that is medically tailored meals, Seth Berkowitz, Associate Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, and other researchers discuss the evidence-base, John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan - the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan - talks about healthcare’s role in nourishing patients, and Alissa Wassung, Executive Director of FIMC covers healthcare policy and the future of building equitable access to MTMs.

FIMC was delighted to be interviewed and featured for the episode and impressed that the history and the power of the medically tailored meal intervention were so expertly contextualized in this session.

Listen now to "Prescription Dinner: Can Meals Be Medicine?" and learn more about what was covered below.

New Study Published in JAMA Network Open Models The Significant National Healthcare Cost Savings of the Medically Tailored Meal Model

Today, JAMA Network Open features a compelling new study out of the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy showcasing the power and promise of medically tailored meals for those living with diet-related illnesses across the country: Association of National Expansion of Insurance Coverage of Medically Tailored Meals with Estimated Hospitalizations and Healthcare Expenditures in the US.

Previous research has shown that the Food Is Medicine Coalition medically tailored meal (MTM) model is associated with improved health outcomes and lower cost of care for patients with complex chronic and severe illnesses, but the intervention is still not a covered benefit in Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance funding streams. No prior study has modelled the efficacy of universal implementation.

The outcomes are stunning: If all eligible patients received access to MTMs, in just the first year of service 1,594,000 hospitalizations could be avoided for a net cost savings of $13.6 billion. Even in modelling subgroups, savings was robust. Individuals living with food insecurity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease evidenced compelling savings on top of the aggregate.

This groundbreaking and thoughtful analysis by Kurt Hager and colleagues considers FIMC’s years of innovation at the nexus of healthcare and nutrition. Over 35 years ago, FIMC agencies created the medically tailored meal intervention and now maintain nationwide nutrition and quality standards. Our coalition leveraged this history of healthcare partnership and innovation to supply input data for the economic modelling, and many of the published peer-reviewed studies used for analysis were conducted by independent researchers and evaluated the impact of MTM interventions provided by FIMC agencies.

This study demonstrates that including medically tailored meals in healthcare is not simply the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do:  MTMs reduce costs, improve health and change lives. Diet-related illnesses disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, low-income families, and older Americans – the exact population that FIMC agencies serve. Medically tailored meals are one of the least expensive and most effective ways to improve our healthcare system in an equitable way.

The National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health supports legislative pilots to test covering medically tailored meals for individuals in traditional Medicare who are experiencing diet-related health conditions. It also promises increased guidance and authority from CMS for states wishing to use Medicaid section 1115 demonstration projects to test the expansion of coverage for food is medicine interventions. The need could not be more compelling, and the evidence could not be more convincing to move swiftly forward on these initiatives. #servinghealth #savingbillions #foodismedicine #MTMsWork

FIMC representatives featured in Stateline article on MTM

Interest in the medically tailored meal intervention has significantly increased since the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health and the release of the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. The Strategy supports two avenues toward increasing access to MTMs across the nation: legislative pilots to test covering MTMs for individuals in traditional Medicare and promises increased guidance and authority from CMS for states wishing to use Medicaid section 1115 demonstration projects to test the expansion of coverage for food is medicine interventions.

Stateline showcased the latter - expanded coverage through 1115 waiver flexibilities - in this timely article focused on the recent waivers passed in Oregon and Massachusetts. Meals on Wheels People in OR, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School in MA and our FIMC Executive Director share their thoughts and experience.

Read the full Stateline article here.

The DaVita Giving Foundation Provides $1.4 Million Grant Toward Addressing Food Insecurity

The DaVita Giving Foundation, a private charitable organization created by DaVita Inc., announced a $1.4 million grant to the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), a national association of 40 nonprofit organizations across the country focused on addressing the dual crises of illness and hunger.

This grant will help FIMC provide more than 100,000 medically-tailored meals to people with food insecurity and medical nutrition needs, including individuals living with end stage kidney disease, through four FIMC nonprofit members in the following markets:

Sacramento, Calif., through Project Open Hand

Los Angeles, through Project Angel Food

Minneapolis, through Open Arms Minnesota

Orlando, Fla., through Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Read more here.

Nature publishes paper on the power of food is medicine by FIMC, CDC, CHLPI and the Tufts Friedman School

Yesterday, Nature published a new collaborative commentary by Heidi M. Blanck and Ruth Petersen, of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Katie Garfield of the Center for Health Law and Policy at Harvard Law School, Dariush Mozaffarian of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and our Executive Director, Alissa Wassung, of the Food Is Medicine Coalition. The paper posits that the twin concepts of nutrition security and a greater focus on food is medicine interventions can help us build a more efficient and equitable healthcare system, by increasing access to nourishing foods across the lifespan.

 Read the full paper here.

Following on the heels of the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, as well as the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, the paper draws further attention to the power and promise of life-saving interventions like medically tailored meals and the need to more fully incorporate them into our healthcare system to see the benefits on a population level.

FIMC was pleased that the Biden-Harris administration stood by its commitment to advance health equity in the National Strategy by highlighting the importance of access to medically tailored meals in our nationwide effort to address diet-related illness and treatment. The Strategy supported legislative pilots to test covering medically tailored meals for individuals in traditional Medicare who are experiencing diet-related health conditions and promises increased guidance and authority from CMS for states wishing to use Medicaid section 1115 demonstration projects to test the expansion of coverage for food is medicine interventions. We know that the increased attention and resources will further our existing efforts in this space. FIMC agencies have been at the forefront of ongoing efforts to expand access to MTM and other food is medicine interventions over the past decade, and we look forward to continuing this critical work on a variety of fronts to build a more resilient and patient-centered healthcare system.

Food Is Medicine Coalition Names Executive Director

From The Food Is Medicine Coalition Advisory Board

This is a time of growth and opportunity for the field of food and nutrition services. As such, I am delighted to share an important update.

As the collaborative work among medically tailored meal agencies across the country has taken root through the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), one of our funders, The Dohmen Company Foundation, has generously committed to helping FIMC create a future where medically tailored nutrition services are accessible to all Americans. Thanks to their award, the FIMC Advisory Board has engaged in a strategic planning process aimed at increasing the reach and impact of our work and has also recruited for a new Executive Director of FIMC to support our strategy and implementation work.

After a rigorous application process, I am thrilled to announce that Alissa Wassung, Senior Director of Policy & Planning at God’s Love We Deliver, has been chosen by the FIMC Advisory Board to become the first-ever Executive Director of FIMC.

Most of you know Alissa and have worked with her on any number of FIMC projects. By way of a more formal introduction, Alissa brings more than a decade of dedicated policy and strategy skills to this new role, as a Senior Director at God’s Love and as the Policy Committee Chair of FIMC, where she has helped to unite diverse constituencies to advance the field of medically tailored food and nutrition. Through education, briefings, national Symposia, technical assistance and, more recently, working to shepherd a national bill through Congress, she has already helped build nationwide awareness of the need for access to and funding for medically tailored meals at the federal level. In her other advisory roles in the field, she is known as a fierce advocate for clients, and as a practical implementer and compassionate colleague.

This is a truly dynamic time to be part of the Food Is Medicine Coalition. As essential service providers during the pandemic, our Coalition expanded our geographic footprint and services, welcomed 9 new MTM programs through the FIMC Accelerator, and supported the first-ever bill introduced in Congress expanding access to MTM (H.R. 5370), and now we have a historic opportunity on the horizon with the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. The FIMC Executive Director will be essential to ensuring our Coalition remains at the center of the Food Is Medicine movement and that our programs remain best-in-class. I am beyond pleased that Alissa will bring her energy, compassion and dedication to this critical work.

Alissa starts as Executive Director of the Food is Medicine Coalition on August 22. Please join the FIMC Advisory Board in congratulating Alissa on her new leadership role.