Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente revealed an initiative Oct. 28 that aims to increase access to affordable, healthy food.
The initiative, called Food for Life, started with Kaiser Permanente reaching out to California households to connect those who are eligible with the state's supplemental nutrition assistance program, CalFresh. Kaiser Permanente will also explore providing in-home meal services for patients and their families, according to a news release. The meals will be medically tailored for medication management, allergies, or conditions such cancer, diabetes and kidney disease.
Through the initiative, Kaiser hopes to increase food security and improve people's health, and determine whether providing the in-home meal services results in additional benefits, such as reduced medical costs and more patients sticking to their dietary needs.
"It is unacceptable for anyone to suffer from poor health because they can't get enough nutritious food to eat," said Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. "The association between good health and healthy food is indisputable, and if we want to make our communities the healthiest in the nation, it is crucial that we connect people with the resources they need to achieve total health."
Kaiser said it will examine the effects of the Food For Life program in California first before expanding it to other states it serves.
Read more about the initiative here.