Building ‘Food is Medicine’ and Believing Funders Will Come

[Viable Food News Desk]

Publisher: Food Bank News
Published: September 18, 2026
Source: Read at Food Bank News
Category: Food Access

Feeding the Gulf Coast has continued Food is Medicine work after grant-funded pilots ended. It currently works with University of South Alabama Health to screen patients for food insecurity and connect them with food pantries, SNAP assistance and nutrition education, without grant or outside support. Facing Hunger Food Bank distributes about 1,700 food boxes each month to patients and reported a reduction of about 25% in emergency room visits, with 34% of people losing weight and 17% eliminating or decreasing blood pressure medications. A project involving all nine food banks in Florida is entering a six-month pilot phase and could let the food banks generate earned revenue through payments from managed care organizations.

Why this matters: Food banks may need to sustain medically tailored food programs between grants, which can require self-funding. Reimbursement models could provide a more durable revenue source for this work.

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