Table 1 |.

Example interventions from the Food is Medicine pyramid

	Target population	Intervention	Examples of efficacy
Medically tailored meals a	Patients with severe, complex chronic conditions that limit activities of daily living and cause high burdens of disability, illness and healthcare utilization, such as poorly controlled diabetes, heart failure, cancer, kidney failure and HIV.	Prepared, medically tailored meals delivered to individuals living with severe illness through a referral from a medical professional or healthcare plan. Meal plans are tailored to the medical needs of the recipient by a registered dietitian nutritionist. Often provided as 10 (and up to 21) weekly meals, in combination with nutrition and culinary education.	Lower hospital, emergency room and nursing home admissions and net healthcare costs; increased medication adherence.
Medically tailored groceries a	Patients with one or more major diet-related health risks or conditions but who can still prepare and cook their own meals. Often, but not always, prioritizing people on low incomes and/or those who are food insecure.	Healthy food items that are preselected, often by a registered dietitian nutritionist or other qualified professional, and provided to eligible patients in combination with nutrition and culinary education.	Improved food security; inconsistent associations with health outcomes.
Produce prescriptions a	Patients with at least one diet-sensitive health risk or chronic condition, such as diabetes, prediabetes, hypertension, obesity or heart disease, as well as people on low incomes and/or who are food insecure.	Discounted or free produce such as fruits and vegetables (and sometimes also nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, dairy and eggs) are provided by electronic benefit cards or paper vouchers redeemable at grocery stores or farmers’ markets, picked up in the healthcare setting or home delivered, in combination with nutrition and culinary education.	Improved food security; lower hemoglobin A1c, blood pressure and body mass index.
Government nutrition security programs	Patients from low-income or other marginalized households with food and/or nutrition insecurity. Children from households with lower incomes.	Healthcare system screening, connecting and supporting enrollment of appropriate patients into government nutrition programs, such as the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; school breakfast and lunch programs; and nutrition programs for older adults.	Increased awareness and enrollment among eligible patients who were not familiar with or had not been enrolled in such programs; improved food security.
Population-level healthy food programs and policies	Children and adults within the general population at risk for poor metabolic health.	Programs and policies to address systems and environmental barriers to equitable healthy food in communities. Examples include consumer education strategies such as package, menu and warning labels; nutrition standards for institutional procurement, including charitable food; employer-based wellness programs with education and incentives for healthier eating; fiscal approaches or incentives to support the affordability of healthful foods; disincentives such as taxes for unhealthful foods or beverages; and regulatory approaches to food additives and marketing.	Increased health literacy, increased community availability of healthier foods and beverages, industry reformulation of packaged foods and restaurant items, improved nutritional habits of consumers.

^aFor medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries and produce prescriptions, clinicians or other health system staff including registered dietitian nutritionists, social workers and community health workers screen and refer eligible patients to appropriate services as part of their treatment plan.