Written by Erin Yeh
May 22, 2026 | Nutritional intervention programs not only benefit patients by improving their lifestyle and health conditions, but can also boost local economies, quality of performance, and outcomes of chronic care.
In this month The pinnacle of food as medicine in chicago, Therese Hilldirector of food and drug strategy at Fairview Health Services; Anna RichardsonMarket Access Program Manager at The Good Acre Food Hub; and Jolene tannersenior director of community health and social impact programs at UnitedHealth Group, sat on a panel to discuss operationalizing culturally responsive Food Is Medicine (FIM) models, aligning outcomes with value–Existing care, building sustainable prevention–Focused solutions.
Relationships as a basis
Hill began the presentation with a clip outlining years of collaboration and partnerships with service providers, local farmers and other organizations to build realistic and equitable programs. Fairview’s programs focused on improving food insecurity and access to disrupt the spread and progression of chronic conditions, according to Hill.
“Once people start eating healthier, they start to see improvement in blood pressure and diabetes control,” Hill said. It also reported long-term health improvements, such as a reduced risk of colon cancer and cardiovascular disease risk.
Hill stressed that the Fairview and Good Acre programs did not start out with expansion and sustainability or workflow and operational efficiency. Instead, they started investing in relationships and partners first. “A big part of the success of our FIM initiative is that we (first) built operational systems around relationships and communications.”
Building this foundation has paid off. One example of successful partnerships is the Food Resource Navigators in Fairview. Navigators are dedicated to supporting nutritional needs within primary care clinics and connecting healthcare communities and patients. Providers can refer them to patients, thus taking on some of the mental burden and tasks associated with delivering nutritional resources to patients. For patients, navigators reduce the stress of finding food and allow them to focus on managing their conditions. Most importantly, they build trust through connection and care.
Fairview Navigators connect patients with a Fresh Food Recipes program that offers weekly deliveries of fresh, local foods, as well as healthy grocery coupons. They also connect them to medically tailored meal programs in partnership with Open Arms and immediate emergency options across the system, such as shelf-stable bags of food.
Burnout has been a prevalent problem for providers working with food insecure patients. Fairview staff shared the challenges in helping patients manage their chronic conditions, including their experience with food insecurity or lack of access to healthy foods that can positively impact their health condition. Hill stated that healthcare professionals who lack the tools to address these social barriers for their patients often experience increased stress, burnout and moral injury, with one study showing a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of seven out of 10 providers.
“When there are options and tools in their toolbox to address these barriers, it increases provider morale and prevents burnout, which is very costly to health care systems,” Hill said.
Tanner commented that having strong local partnerships also allows for community insights and data that help fully understand the root causes of health disparities and where to invest money in programs and partnerships. “(Evaluation) is essential not only to understand and demonstrate clinical outcomes when we talk about nutrition and food as drug programs, but also to help measure the impact on things like utilization, cost and quality.”
Work with local farmers to expand the local economy
The Good Acre works with farmers who want agriculture to be their main livelihood but face significant barriers to entering major markets, such as university food services and retail grocery stores. Using these networks and partnerships, Good Acre reduces the operational burden on Fairview facilities and employees by tapping more than 100 different agricultural companies. These companies are culturally diverse and reflect the patient population. Furthermore, the collaboration allows business growth for these farmers and access to a wide range of fresh produce for patients who receive the food boxes.
When it comes to economic development, Richardson sees the Good Acre program as “just scratching the surface.” It’s not just about the money invested in agribusiness annually and the number of farms participating, nor about the cultural and ethnic diversity of the farms and how they reflect the patient population. For Richardson, the advantages are also in channeling FIM funds locally and translating this into broader, long-term economic growth.
“The other important element is leveraging…all of these different community partners to do what we do best,” Richardson continued. Sharing responsibilities and playing to each other’s specialties and strengths allows programs to scale more effectively and sustainably.
To further illustrate the impact of Fairview and Good Acre’s collaborative efforts, Richardson used the analogy of job descriptions that include three to five years of experience for an entry-level position. “When a farm is fairly new and growing, it will likely be sold at a farmers market,” she noted. But the product may not meet the retail standards of a grocery store in terms of size and aesthetics.
With Fairview, the market has become more flexible. Production still needs to be of high quality but does not have to be standard in size or appearance. The Fairview program allows farmers to get the entry-level experience they need while providing their goods to people in need.
Additionally, Richardson cited a report from the Rockefeller Foundation indicating that when FIM funding is spent locally, it can improve health outcomes and become part of a community’s long-term economic development strategy. In other words, such programs may help boost local businesses, support farmers, create jobs, and build more resilient local economies while helping patients eat healthier.
Improving health conditions
Tanner reported that aligning navigators and fresh food prescription funds has yielded beneficial results, in terms of food security and chronic disease management. Although analysis of routine clinical data was not part of a randomized study, it showed consistent improvements among participants. Specifically, 71% of participants with diabetes or prediabetes reported low A1C levels and 68% of participants with hypertension reported low blood pressure. Both metrics are part of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) maintained by the National Commission for Quality Assurance, Tanner said.
“Although the FIM itself is not a HEDIS measure, it can help support stronger performance on measures such as diabetes and blood pressure control by addressing some of the barriers, including healthy eating and self-management that fall under these measures,” Tanner said.
Furthermore, Hill reported that participants responded positively to working with food resource navigators. In particular, they felt more confident about their need for food for themselves and their families and eating a balanced diet.
Tanner recommended collaborating with a group of partners across sectors who can align on common goals and focus on sustainability. She added that being part of program design and intentional practices around evaluation allows for diversification of financial support, which in turn facilitates policy development and advocacy to increase program sustainability and scale.
