Feeding America, in partnership with Elevance Health Foundation, has released the nation’s largest Food as Medicine evaluation of food banks. The evaluation found that consistent access to nutritious food reduces self-reported hospitalizations by 14 percent and emergency department visits by 11 percent while strengthening food security among people facing hunger.
The three-year program, evaluated by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact, screened more than 1.45 million patients for food insecurity and connected more than 161,000 households across 13 states to nutritious food.
“The connection between food and health is well established, yet for millions of people facing hunger, accessing the nutritious food needed to manage overall health and chronic conditions remains out of reach,” said Melanie Hall, chief health, research and evaluation officer at Feeding America and registered dietitian nutritionist. “We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to lead a full, healthy life, and these findings show us what is possible when food, health care and human dignity work together. Over three years, communities across the country demonstrated that when neighbors have consistent access to nutritious food, real change follows. Food as Medicine is not just a concept. It works.”
According to the report, participants experienced a 47 percent increase in food security after participating in the program. Among participants with both baseline and follow-up clinical data, HbA1c, BMI and LDL cholesterol all improved, with greater gains among those who attended more dietitian sessions. Structured nutrition education was associated with improvements in participants’ self-reported general health, decreases in missed or delayed care and greater ability to secure or afford medication, with comprehensive programs showing the strongest gains.
Elevance Health Foundation invested $14.1 million in the program, the largest grant in the foundation’s history. The program grew to include 21 Feeding America network food banks and more than 50 health care sites across the country, with registered dietitian nutritionists and community health workers embedded throughout.
“We know food and nutrition play a critical role in improving health outcomes, yet far too many Americans are still lacking consistent access to the nutritious foods they need in order to thrive,” said Dr. Shantanu Agrawal, chief health officer at Elevance Health. “Our partnership with Feeding America reflects a shared commitment to improving whole health by expanding access to nutritious food and strengthening community-based support. Together, we’re helping people better manage their health, reducing avoidable hospitalizations and emergency department visits, and helping lower the cost of care.”
A central finding of the evaluation is that dignity and design matter as much as delivery, according to Feeding America. Across more than 5,600 surveys and in-depth interviews with 35 participants, neighbors shared that feeling respected, having choices and working with culturally competent staff deepened their engagement with the program and contributed to better outcomes.
A growing number of policymakers, health systems and insurers recognize food and nutrition security as both a public health and economic concern. The evaluation offers evidence that community-based Food as Medicine programs can deliver meaningful results across the country and inform health system partnerships, policy and a scalable program model. The findings are shaping Feeding America’s work, informing a national nutrition curriculum, strengthening food sourcing practices and advancing medically tailored grocery standards across the network.
Feeding America unites communities through a nationwide network of more than 250 food banks, 20-plus statewide food bank associations, 10-plus regional co-ops and 60,000-plus agency partners, food pantries and meal programs. The network helped provide 5.9 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year.