FOODRx — A Food is Medicine Program

Work with Second Harvest Heartland to ensure patients who face food insecurity and diet-related health conditions have the nutrition, education, and support they need to thrive.

Partnering at the Intersection of Hunger and Health

FOODRx is a clinically proven, cost-effective, medically tailored grocery and nutrition education program built for health plans and providers.

Food insecure populations are at a higher risk of developing chronic disease. Individuals facing hunger are:

• 2-3× more likely to have type 2 diabetes¹
• 6× more likely to have heart disease²
• 2× more likely to have high blood pressure³

To improve their health, patients must have access to nourishing food and the knowledge to make lasting changes.

That’s where FOODRx comes in. FOODRx is a Food is Medicine solution supporting individuals facing food insecurity and/or chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. We partner with healthcare providers and insurers to deliver a simple, cost-effective way to connect patients to food and resources that will improve their health.

A Food and Behavior Intervention to Improve Patient Health

The United States is facing an epidemic of chronic disease that stems from systemic barriers to food access, which fuel social drivers of health and health-related social needs, like food insecurity. Our FOODRx program is here to break that cycle by connecting patients to healthier food, lowering healthcare costs, and improving health outcomes and patient well-being.

Second Harvest Heartland’s FOODRx program:

• Is clinically validated with proven health outcomes and several years of testing
• Provides behavior-change support beyond food delivery
• Connects patients to additional food resources like SNAP
• Is Minnesota-based with deep local reach and community trust
• Provides culturally tailored food and recipes for Minnesota’s diverse populations 

Lowering Healthcare Costs and Helping Patients Achieve a Healthier Life

At Second Harvest Heartland, we’re committed to ending hunger in ways that improve overall health and nutrition security for all our neighbors. Independent research studies have shown that the FOODRx program delivers the following results:

• Partners saw a 44% decrease in total healthcare claims, with an average cost per claim dropping 15.5%.⁴
• 17% drop in overall ER visits; 60% fewer ER visits among those using support services.⁴
• 25% of participants achieved HgbA1c <7.5% with significant reductions in fasting glucose and HgbA1c.⁴
• ≥ 90% of FOODRx participants reported the food helped them feel better and worry less about their supply of food.⁵
• Participants reported reduced instances of skipping meals and choosing between food and medicine, with a 24% reduction in food insecurity prevalence.^4,5

How FOODRx Works to End Hunger and Promote Health

FOODRx provides healthcare providers and insurers with an effective way to support patient health and well-being through access to nutritious food and educational resources. The program also uses a patient-centered approach, providing individualized support to encourage behavior change.

Food Prescription

• Monthly home-delivered boxes of shelf-stable foods, carefully curated by a registered dietitian
• 13 or 25 meals per box that are proportionally balanced, designed to supplement—not replace—the diet
• Original or Vegetarian versions, featuring culturally relevant ingredients from 5 different cuisines
• 6-month program with the option to extend

Nutrition Education

• Educational materials and recipes to help manage conditions and encourage behavioral changes for a healthier lifestyle
• Monthly touchpoints including coaching calls—one-on-one check-ins conducted by program advisors—to provide supportive engagement and reinforce long-term behavior change

Wraparound Food Access Support

• Ongoing coordination of care related to SNAP application assistance, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (senior food box) enrollment, other federal benefits, food resource access, and referrals to additional non-food supports
• Care Center: Our food resource navigators speak English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. They also work with interpreters to support additional languages

Partner Integration and Reporting

• Monthly reporting and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) tracking with HIPAA compliance
• Partner employee engagement, e.g., with case workers or clinic staff
• Evaluate patient outcomes to measure the feasibility and effectiveness of nutrition interventions

.  . 

Citations:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Diabetes and food insecurity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/healthy-eating/diabetes-food-insecurity.html#:~:text=Increased%20risk%20of%20type%202,which%20limits%20healthy%20food%20choices.  

2. Chang R, Javed Z, Taha M, Yahya T, Valero-Elizondo J, Brandt EJ, Cainzos-Achirica M, Mahajan S, Ali HJ, Nasir K. Food insecurity and cardiovascular disease: Current trends and future directions. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2021 Dec 10;9:100303. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpc.2021.100303. PMID: 34988538; PMCID: PMC8702994.

3. Food insecurity, certain meats linked with increased high blood pressure risk. Penn State Health News. (2022, April 4). https://pennstatehealthnews.org/2022/03/food-insecurity-study-2022/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20investigators%2C%20participants,who%20ate%20less%20processed%20m

4. García-Pérez M, De Kesel Lofthus A, Tilstra D, Switzer K, Williamson K. Food as Medicine: FOODRx for Patients with Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Central Minnesota—A PILOT STUDY. Diabetology. 2024; 5(1):110-128. https://doi.org/10.3390/diabetology5010009

5. Kempainen S, Cutts DB, Robinson-O'Brien R, De Kesel Lofthus A, Gilbertson DT, Mino R. A Collaborative Pilot to Support Patients With Diabetes Through Tailored Food Box Home Delivery. Health Promot Pract. 2023 Sep;24(5):963-968. doi: 10.1177/15248399221100792. Epub 2023 Jan 10. PMID: 36627767