Food is Medicine

Overview

Access to affordable, nutritious food is crucial for good health, yet many Americans, particularly in under-resourced communities, face barriers. The result? A $1.1 trillion healthcare bill for diet-related diseases — equal to all the money we currently spend on food itself.

Food is Medicine programs, including produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals, use food-based interventions to help prevent, manage, and treat diet-related diseases. Integrating nutrition into our healthcare system would enable doctors to prescribe healthy food, reducing the need for invasive health services while lowering healthcare costs.

Since 2019, The Rockefeller Foundation has backed initiatives to support these programs and deepen our understanding of their potential. This year, the Foundation committed $100 million to further advance Food is Medicine, including supporting vital research like the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food Initiative. We also initiated a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to speed the integration of Food Is Medicine into health systems.

Meet Kenny Joyner

Why it Matters

Existing and emerging data show that improved nutrition delivered via FIM interventions can improve health outcomes while reducing costs.

0%%
of American adults are living with obesity, which increases their risk of health problems including heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes [Tufts]
>0BillionBillion
people around the world can’t afford a healthy diet
0ThousandThousand
deaths are caused by poor diets in the U.S. yearly

Impact Stories

Latina-Focused Produce Rx Program Benefits Entire Families
Reaching vulnerable communities and improving health outcomes through produce prescriptions.
Helping Veterans With Produce Prescriptions
Produce prescriptions help veteran Kenny A. Joyner battle degenerative disc and joint disease. He says it's better than drugs, because it tackles underlying issues.
Veggies as Medicine: Food Prescriptions to Improve Health, Address Inequities
Doctors prescribe vegetables, insurance pays, and patients heal. And this builds a more nourishing and equitable food system.