What is 'food is medicine'? Two experts explain this decades‑old approach to health care that is taking on new life

The "food is medicine" concept harnesses scientific evidence demonstrating how our dietary choices impact our health. This approach, also known as "food as medicine" or "food prescriptions," advocates for prescribing nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, and protein to patients as part of their treatment plans to prevent, manage, or treat specific medical conditions.

The authors, researchers focused on food access and health in rural areas of northern Mississippi, have observed the benefits and challenges of implementing food is medicine programs in their community. These programs can take various forms, including curated food boxes, grocery vouchers, and medically tailored meals delivered by nonprofit organizations, health clinics, and healthcare providers.

The primary objective of these initiatives is to enhance patient health, particularly for individuals dealing with chronic illnesses, while simultaneously lowering healthcare expenditures. As food insecurity has become a pressing issue in the United States, with over 47 million Americans, including 7.3 million children, living in food-insecure households in 2024, food is medicine programs have emerged as crucial lifelines for those facing food insecurity. Globally, around 673 million people are estimated to be hungry.

Rural communities often suffer from higher food insecurity rates due to the disappearance of local grocery stores and increased distances from urban centers. Food is medicine programs differ from traditional food banks by providing exclusively healthy foods, often curated by dietitians, to optimize patient well-being. Dietitians guide patients with chronic illnesses in understanding food labels to make informed dietary choices.

The origins of the food is medicine movement trace back more than 60 years, with civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Jack Geiger being one of its earliest advocates. In the 1960s, he co-founded community health centers in South Boston and the Mississippi Delta. When local officials criticized him for prescribing food to patients in the Mississippi Delta, Geiger famously replied, "The last time I looked at my textbooks, the most specific therapy for malnutrition was food."

Since then, numerous community organizations, such as Community Servings and Project Open Hand, have supplied healthy food to vulnerable populations. In 2023, the American Heart Association convened a panel of researchers and physicians to review food is medicine research and recommend future directions. Their findings suggest that these programs could potentially prevent or manage chronic conditions, saving the U.S. healthcare system an estimated US$4.3 trillion annually.

Internationally, the Food Is Medicine Global Alliance, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, has formed to promote the integration, financial sustainability, and widespread delivery of food is medicine programs by 2030. Despite some inconsistencies in long-term health outcomes due to limited trial sizes and insufficient rigor, research supports the positive impact of food is medicine programs on diet quality and food security, particularly for individuals with diabetes.

However, the effectiveness of these programs can be constrained by limited funding, as they often provide only a few meals per week.