12/11/24 –
The Food as Medicine movement has potential beyond improving health outcomes — such programs can save money as well.
A new report by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, highlights the potential benefits of scaling Food as Medicine programs nationwide. These initiatives, which include medically tailored meals and produce prescription programs, have been shown to improve health outcomes while being cost-effective or even cost-saving.
For example, the report says, providing medically tailored meals and groceries to eligible recipients could prevent 6 million hospitalizations annually. After accounting for implementation costs, this policy is projected to generate net savings of $13.6 billion within one year and $185 billion over a decade.
