Tufts Institute, Kaiser Permanente Launch Food is Medicine Network

The Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University in Massachusetts and Kaiser Permanente have launched a national network to share best practices in the “Food Is Medicine” space to improve well-being, equity, and efficiency in healthcare.

In addition to the Food is Medicine Institute and Kaiser Permanente, the network’s founding members include healthcare organizations Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, CVS Health, Devoted Health, Elevance Health, Geisinger, and Highmark Health. 

Members of the Food is Medicine National Network of Excellence will develop frameworks to assess the impact of Food is Medicine interventions, measuring health outcomes and cost-effectiveness. They also will promote the effectiveness of Food is Medicine through industry engagement and communication with policymakers and the public.

“Kaiser Permanente has been testing Food is Medicine programs for several years,” said Pamela Schwartz, executive director for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente, in a statement. “We’re excited by their potential to improve health. That’s why we’re expanding these efforts and using our findings to help other healthcare organizations do the same.”

The Tufts Food is Medicine Institute, located in the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, notes that emerging research suggests that food-based policies and programs — such as medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and nutrition education — can significantly reduce diet-related medical conditions and associated healthcare costs. Food is Medicine strategies also help provide adults and families with children access to nutritious meals regardless of their location or income level.

“Each year, suboptimal diets and food insecurity cause more than 500,000 deaths and cost the U.S. economy $1.1 trillion in health care and lost productivity,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute, in a statement. “By working together, we can scale evidence-based nutritional interventions that are driving change, improving health, and reducing disparities.”