The Bipartisan Policy Center recently unveiled a set of ten recommendations to advance the Food is Medicine movement, shedding light on the pivotal role of community-based organizations (CBOs), such as food banks and pantries, in this transformative endeavor.

As healthcare costs continue to escalate due to poor diet and nutrition, the Food is Medicine movement has gained prominence as a viable solution. The involvement of CBOs is deemed “crucial for its effectiveness,” according to the Center. Among its recommendations, the eighth specifically calls for the sharing of best practices to facilitate data exchange between CBOs and healthcare providers, all while ensuring compliance with patient privacy requirements.

Data exchange may seem like a routine task, but the intricacies surrounding patient data privacy laws present CBOs with a new and complex regulatory landscape. The uncertainties, costs, and complexities associated with data privacy can act as formidable barriers, hindering collaboration between CBOs and healthcare systems.

One of the primary objectives of the Food is Medicine movement is to secure insurance coverage for nutritious food. However, the report highlights that both public and private insurers currently offer limited coverage for Food is Medicine initiatives. This data comes alongside recent findings that medically tailored meals could potentially prevent 1.6 million hospitalizations and save a staggering $13.6 billion in healthcare costs annually.

Funding for Food is Medicine efforts, particularly produce prescriptions, primarily comes from private sources (46%), including foundations and corporations. Federal nutrition incentives contribute 16% of the funding, while state, municipal, and other local funding sources contribute 15%. Private healthcare accounts for 7% of the funding, and 4% is allocated from organizations’ own budgets.

The report spotlights two private sector companies actively investing in Food is Medicine interventions, both with extensive collaborations with food banks. Instacart, for instance, introduced online SNAP access across all 50 states and launched “Community Carts,” enabling users to donate nutritious groceries to over 100 Feeding America food banks through a mobile app.

Elevance Health’s philanthropic arm, formerly known as Anthem, Inc., is also making a significant impact by committing over $14 million to Feeding America through 2025. This substantial investment aims to foster partnerships between food banks and healthcare providers, with a focus on improving data collection, sharing, and analysis.

Notably, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s report originated from its Food is Medicine working group, which convened in March. While the group comprises members from various sectors, including grocers, insurers, and doctors, it lacks representation from CBOs.

Coinciding with the release of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a bulletin that clarified certain aspects of Food is Medicine implementation. These clarifications encompassed providing Food is Medicine to entire households rather than just one individual and renewing a six-month provision of Food is Medicine for an additional six months. Dariush Mozzafarian, Director of the Tufts Food is Medicine Institute and a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Food is Medicine working group praised these updates for their “vision and thoughtfulness.”