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Access to healthy and nutritious food is crucial to optimal health and well-being. In 2022, food insecurity impacted 13.5% of the population in the United States. Food insecurity – defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life – is associated with a wide range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Ensuring food security is a critical element of comprehensive health care.

Food is Medicine (FIM) programming including medically tailored meals, groceries, and food packages, and producing prescription programs are effective interventions to prevent and treat diet-related chronic conditions, improve food security, and promote health equity/social drivers of health. Additionally, research shows that this programming is associated with improved health, decreased healthcare utilization, and lower healthcare costs. Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA) currently has several FIM initiatives in place to address food insecurity in the Veteran population, most notably, the VHA Fresh Connect Produce Prescription pilot and the VHA Food Hub pilot.

Partnering with donors, community and stakeholders is essential in addressing food security. Economic uncertainties with social drivers of health impact U.S. citizens daily. This presentation will describe the multidisciplinary integration of these and other initiatives that are proving efficacious in alleviating food insecurity. It will further explore known outcomes including sustainability and scalability.

Objectives:

• Describe the current state of food insecurity in general and those receiving care in VHA and its impacts on health and well-being.
• Identify Food is Medicine (FIM) programming commonly used to address food insecurity and its effects on health and healthcare utilization and costs.
• Use the knowledge learned in the presentation to develop food security initiatives, using a multidisciplinary model and partnering with community stakeholders.

Presenters:
Megan Bowman, MS, RD
Elaine Bruner, MSN, RN, CMGT-BC
Caitlin Celardo, LCSW
Rick Whitted

Continuing Education:
1 hour RN, CCM, and SW

Fees:
Members - FREE
Non-members - $40