A new report from Feeding America shows a promising connection between “Food as Medicine” programs such as Mid-Ohio Farmacy and lower chronic illness rates and community healthcare costs.
The report covers three years of data from 21 food banks that partnered with healthcare providers to screen patients for food insecurity and direct them to food pantries. Roughly 1.4 million people were screened across the U.S., and 161,000 of them were directed to pantries by their doctors.
Nationally, participants saw marked improvements to BMI, cholesterol levels, and HbA1c scores, which are a key indicator of diabetes. Locally, MOFC partnered with OhioHealth to refer patients to Mid-Ohio Markets and participating partner agencies. Among Farmacy customers included in the data, emergency room visits fell 17%, and HbA1c scores decreased from 8% to 7%.
“MOFC has been demonstrating for more than a decade how nutritious food can be a form of effective, low-cost preventative healthcare. Now, there’s national data supporting it,” said Director of Research and Nutrition Amy Headings.
Visit mofc.org/fam3 for more details.
