Food is Medicine

Overview

Good food is the cornerstone of good health. Yet many Americans, especially in BIPOC and low-income communities, lack access to affordable, nutritious food. The result? A $1.1 trillion healthcare bill for diet-related diseases — equal to all the money we currently spend on the food itself.

Food is Medicine programs, like 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, and lowering healthcare costs.

The Rockefeller Foundation partners with payers, providers, government agencies, non-profits, and community groups to enhance our understanding ofFood Is Medicine policies and approachesand advance their equitable use.

Partnerships for Nutrition

President Biden highlights The Rockefeller Foundation’s commitment with the American Heart association and Kroger to expand #FoodIsMedicine research to help scale critical solutions as a part of the health care system.

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

Helping Veterans With Produce Prescriptions
Produce prescriptions are helping veteran Kenny A. Joyner of North Carolina fight degenerative disc and joint disease. He says it's better than drugs, because it takes care of 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.