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Food is Medicine National Summit: Transforming Health Care
Ronit A Ridberg1, Melissa Maitin-Shepard2, Katie Garfield3
1Food is Medicine Institute, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|October 3, 2024
Summary
Food is Medicine (FIM) interventions integrate nutrition-rich food access into healthcare to improve health outcomes and equity. A national summit identified key challenges and opportunities for scaling these vital programs within the healthcare system.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Food is Medicine (FIM) interventions link food security, nutrition, health, and equity within healthcare.
- These programs provide tailored food to patients as part of treatment plans, often prioritizing health equity.
- FIM initiatives are increasingly recognized for their role in disease management, prevention, and overall health optimization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify challenges and opportunities for sustainably incorporating Food is Medicine services into the healthcare system at scale.
- To discuss momentum, implementation strategies, and innovative partnerships for FIM programs.
- To inform future actions by highlighting advances, best practices, and opportunities from a national summit.
Main Methods:
- A 2-day National Food is Medicine Summit convened leaders from healthcare, research, government, and community sectors.
- Discussions focused on key themes including program scaling, financing, workforce education, and policy.
- The report synthesizes presentations and discussions from summit participants with diverse lived experiences.
Main Results:
- Significant momentum exists for FIM, with examples of public and private sector actions and cross-sector partnerships.
- Key challenges include integrating FIM into healthcare business models, educating the workforce, and sustainable scaling.
- Opportunities lie in leveraging local community-based organization networks and innovative financing mechanisms like Medicaid waivers.
Conclusions:
- Sustainable scaling of Food is Medicine programs requires addressing business model integration, workforce education, and financing.
- Cross-sector collaboration and leveraging community-based organizations are crucial for effective FIM implementation.
- Continued focus on policy, research, and innovative partnerships will advance the integration of FIM into mainstream healthcare.
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