Food plays a critical role in the health, resilience, and well-being of all people living in the United States. But approximately 47.4 million people live in food-insecure households and far too many Americans are living with preventable diet-related chronic diseases, resulting in shorter life expectancies and increased medical costs.
The connection between nutrition and health is a particular focus of the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which is why we are proud to lead HHS’ efforts in this space. Food is Medicine encompasses a broad range of approaches that promote optimal health and healing and reduce disease burden by providing nutritious food — in conjunction with human services, education, and policy change — through collaboration at the nexus of healthcare and community.
Today, we are pleased to release a virtual toolkit with a collection of new resources that can support the growing numbers of health professionals who are implementing or developing Food Is Medicine initiatives around the country. These foundational resources arm the health care sector, human services entities, medical professionals and others with tools they can use to improve the health and wellbeing of all people living in the United States. These resources include:
- Foundational Understanding Tools: data profiles related to FIM opportunities and key materials to help decode state-specific policy approaches;
- Federal Food Resource Hub: information on relevant federal policies, regulations, educational tools, and funding opportunities to support FIM programs;
- Promising Practices: models and emerging practices for broad, scalable FIM implementation;
- Bright Spots: case studies that are designed to provide actionable insights from innovators across the country;
- Continuing Education Resources for Providers: continuing education opportunities for healthcare professionals to advance their understanding of nutrition and how to apply FIM in their work; and
- Analytic Framework: priority measurement domains and metrics to advance FIM evaluation.
Our work is just beginning. The release of these resources marks just one step in our efforts to support the development and expansion of Food Is Medicine efforts around the country. There is an opportunity for us all to collaborate and expand the awareness and implementation of Food Is Medicine initiatives beyond traditional partners.
