Food as medicine moves

Food is medicine has moved from pilot projects to routine care pathways, with federal agencies, medical schools, and Medicaid programs now building food support into treatment. (odphp.health.gov, jamanetwork.com) The basic idea is simple: clinicians screen patients for diet-related risk, then refer them to produce prescriptions, medically tailored groceries, or medically tailored meals matched to a condition such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer treatment. The federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion lists those services as core “Food Is Medicine” interventions in a February 2025 landscape summary. (odphp.health.gov) Medical education is shifting with it. The Health meets Food culinary medicine curriculum says more than 55 medical schools, residency programs, and nursing schools now use its coursework, and the Association of American Medical Colleges reported in late 2025 that some schools have added hands-on culinary medicine training and community teaching kitchens. (culinarymedicine.org, aamc.org) Federal policy has also widened the lane for these programs. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says Food Is Medicine efforts are expanding across communities and systems, while the Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program has awarded more than $330 million to over 250 projects from 2019 through 2024, including produce prescription grants. (odphp.health.gov, nifa.usda.gov) Medicaid has become one of the main testing grounds. Medicaid says states can use Section 1115 demonstrations to try new approaches, and its health-related social needs guidance encourages states to build partnerships that help beneficiaries obtain nutrition supports alongside medical care. (medicaid.gov, medicaid.gov, medicaid.gov) The evidence base is still developing, but recent health-policy papers are pushing the field toward scale. A March 2025 Health Affairs perspective said medically tailored meals are expanding rapidly across the United States and increasingly being adopted by payers, while a 2025 JAMA Health Forum article said early research suggests produce prescriptions, medically tailored groceries, and medically tailored meals can improve cardiovascular outcomes and may be cost-effective. (healthaffairs.org, jamanetwork.com) One April 2025 Health Affairs study modeled nationwide coverage of medically tailored meals for high-risk patients and estimated lower emergency department use, fewer hospitalizations, and lower health care spending if states adopted the benefit. The authors described the findings as modeled estimates, not proof from a single national rollout. (healthaffairs.org, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Public awareness has lagged the policy push. A Health Affairs survey based on responses collected from February through April 2023 found Americans generally viewed Food Is Medicine favorably, but the paper said awareness and direct experience with the programs remained limited. (healthaffairs.org) That gap helps explain why social posts about pantry basics and cooking skills are resonating now. The federal landscape summary treats nutrition education and counseling as part of the same ecosystem as produce prescriptions and tailored meals, linking kitchen know-how with clinical referrals rather than treating them as separate ideas. (odphp.health.gov) The next test is whether insurers and state Medicaid programs keep paying once pilots end. For now, the movement’s center of gravity has shifted: food support is being organized less like charity and more like a benefit that starts with a diagnosis and a referral. (medicaid.gov, odphp.health.gov)