NC Investment Map

CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS FOR HEALTHY FOOD ACCESS

Connect hospitals, health centers, public health departments, and health insurers with suppliers and sellers of locally, grown food to support “Food is Medicine” programs

LEVERAGE COMMUNITY-LEVEL INVESTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEM

Clinical Interventions for Healthy Food Access

Build comprehensive “Food is Medicine” programs addressing the food-related needs of patients and their larger community. This will involve working with residents and health professionals (e.g., community nonprofit/hospital collaborations, health centers, public health departments, and health care insurers) to develop clinical training, continuing education, and related resources for medical staff and residents, and health educators. The training and resources will promote healthy food as a form of medicine and support a systemic approach to wellness among patients and caregivers.

In addition to training medical professionals, “Food is Medicine” programs should incorporate wrap-around services such as food insecurity screenings, referrals to community food pantries, and application assistance for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). They should increase access to nutrition assistance incentives (double bucks), fruit and vegetable prescription programs, medically tailored meals, and nutrition education at community teaching kitchens. Programs should also prioritize the use of local foods, potentially by working with local farms, farmer cooperatives, and/or food hubs (local facilities that gather, store, process, distribute, and/or market locally-produced foods). This best practice requires investment in:

  • Capacity to coordinate wrap-around services with organizations providing food support in their communities
  • Capacity to train community health workers to conduct screenings, refer patients, deliver training, and advocacy
  • Capacity to conduct research on food and nutrition interventions via individual health as well as the health care system
  • Capacity to invest in community organizations, medical staff training, and small, start-up, and BIPOC-owned farms

This best practice requires investment in:

  • Capacity to coordinate wrap-around services with community organizations that already providing food support in their communities
  • Capacity to train community health workers to conduct screenings, refer patients, deliver training, and advocacy
  • Capacity to conduct research on food and nutrition interventions via individual health as well as the health care system
  • Capacity to invest in community organizations, medical staff training, and small, start-up, and BIPOC-owned farms

Evaluation of Promising Strategy in Initial Target Regions

Learn more about the Investment Map’s selection of Initial Target Regions.

Recent investment in the healthy prescription program. The Department of Health and Human Services has developed standardized screening questions for food insecurity.

  • Increased SNAP enrollment. Metric = # enrolled per # eligible with demographic information collected that would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Increased access to food distribution programs. Metric = # of new outlets/programs.
  • Increase community-level access to healthy foods. Metric = HNC 2030: % of people who are low-income that are not in close proximity to a grocery store.
  • Increased food access program participation. Metric = number/% increase/ relative % of BIPOC to all – of participants in food access programs (demographic information collected would allow disaggregation of the data).
  • Decrease in health care usage. Metric = annualized health care expenditures per participant before and after intervention with demographic information collected would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Decrease in health indicators associated with diet-related disease. Metric = BMI, PP, Glucose, and other health indicators per participant before and after intervention with demographic. information collected would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Engagement of diverse community voices. Metric = % of participants at the Table who are directly from within the community (>50%).
  • Anchor institution engagement. Metric = number of participating institutions.
  • Payor engagement. Metric = number of participating payor organizations.
  • Support for general operating. Metric = amount of $ going specifically into general operating support (not program-related).

MANNA has a program ready for a roll-out for delivery of medically, tailored meals (designed to support a patient’s medical needs). Community Servings (nonprofit) conducted a study with UNC-Chapel Hill, which shows adults with significant medical and social challenges enrolled in medically, tailored meal programs appear to have fewer hospitalizations, admissions to skilled care, and require less medical spending.

MANNA is working with Mission Health System (WNC) to implement client choice pantries, nutritional nudging (small changes in a patient’s food environment that help them make healthy food choices), and food security screening. This is currently at the clinic-specific level. Recent investment in the healthy prescription program. Department of Health and Human Services has developed standardized screening questions for food insecurity.

Lack of funding is preventing the roll-out of MANNA’s medically, tailored meal program. MANNA needs to hire and train staff to provide client screening and other services.

  • Increased SNAP enrollment. Metric = # enrolled per # eligible with demographic information collected would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Increased access to food distribution programs. Metric = # of new outlets/programs.
  • Increase community-level access to healthy foods. Metric = HNC 2030: % of people who are low-income that are not in close proximity to a grocery store.
  • Increased food access program participation. Metric = number/% increase/ relative % of BIPOC to all – of participants in food access programs (demographic information collected would allow disaggregation of the data).
  • Decrease in health care usage. Metric = annualized health care expenditures per participant before and after intervention with demographic information collected would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Decrease in health indicators associated with diet-related disease. Metric = BMI, PP, Glucose, and other health indicators per participant before and after intervention with demographic. information collected would allow disaggregation of the data into meaningful categories associated with racial or economic inequity.
  • Engagement of diverse community voices. Metric = % of participants at the Table who are directly from within the community (>50%).
  • Anchor institution engagement. Metric = number of participating institutions.
  • Payor engagement. Metric = number of participating payor organizations.
  • Support for general operating. Metric = amount of $ going specifically into general operating support (not program-related).

FOOD PROMISING STRATEGIES

View other promising strategies for investing in NC’s food systems