New partnership will increase Meals is Drugs applications to assist deal with meals insecurity, diet-related illnesses amongst Veterans
WASHINGTON | April 24, 2023 – The U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs (VA) and The Rockefeller Basis introduced a brand new partnership to increase Meals is Drugs applications, from medically tailor-made meals to provide prescription applications, at key VA well being care amenities throughout the nation.
VA and The Rockefeller Basis will help two Produce Prescription pilot tasks and related analysis pilot applications at VA well being care programs in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah and Houston, Texas, with the objective of bettering the standard of life for Veterans dwelling with or at-risk of diet-related well being circumstances. The Produce Prescription program pilots will present eligible Veterans the chance to enroll within the Contemporary Join program to obtain $100 monthly for contemporary produce and obtain diet schooling and ongoing teaching from VA registered dietitian nutritionists.
“We all know good meals is the inspiration of excellent well being, and research after research has discovered Meals is Drugs interventions make individuals more healthy whilst they lower well being care prices,” mentioned Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Basis. “I’m proud the Basis can be collaborating with the VA to assist make American Veterans’ lives more healthy and extra meals safe. This program will even assist to speed up our understanding and use of those applications as an integral a part of well being care supply to the advantage of thousands and thousands of different Individuals.”
VA is the most important built-in well being care system in the USA offering care at greater than 1,200 well being care amenities to over 9 million Veterans. Sadly, about 27% of Afghanistan and Iraq battle Veterans expertise meals insecurity — a fee greater than double that of the final U.S. inhabitants. Research have discovered that Veterans, significantly these with meals insecurity, are additionally at higher threat for diet-related illnesses. One research reported 86% have been chubby or overweight at their first go to to a Veterans Well being Administration (VHA) clinician, whereas one other confirmed the prevalence of diabetes is a minimum of 5% larger amongst U.S. Veterans than the final inhabitants. Increasing Meals is Drugs applications at VA will tackle the affect of diet-related illness and meals insecurity amongst Veterans, whereas evaluating their affect for constructing the case to embed these applications into a completely built-in well being care supply system.
“At VA, we all know complete and modern diet applications like Meals is Drugs assist Veterans keep wholesome lives and obtain meals safety,” mentioned VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “Meals is foundational for a wholesome life, and it takes all of us — working collectively — to enhance outcomes and diet for Veterans. We admire The Rockefeller Basis for partnering with us in making wholesome meals extra accessible to Veterans at VA.”
Meals is Drugs applications are well known as highly effective interventions, however they solely attain a fraction of those that may gain advantage. The partnership will deal with increasing the implementation and analysis of Meals is Drugs applications all through VA’s well being care system, and help from The Rockefeller Basis will present grants to organizations corresponding to About Contemporary, a Boston-based non-profit, that may assist enroll Veterans in produce prescription pilot applications at VHA amenities in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah and Houston, Texas. Designed in collaboration with VA clinicians, employees and the VA’s Workplace of Meals Safety, these tasks will construct upon the groundbreaking work led by Reinvestment Companions to extend Veteran enrollment of their EatWell program with the VA facility in Durham, North Carolina.
Researchers on the College of Utah will consider the tasks’ impacts on well being, well being care prices and utilization and participant satisfaction. Classes and information garnered via these pilot tasks will assist to tell the event of extra impactful insurance policies and program design to scale the attain of Meals is Drugs as a profit for Veterans throughout the VA well being care system.
This partnership builds momentum and progress towards the second pillar of the Biden-Harris administration’s Nationwide Technique on Starvation, Vitamin, and Well being to combine diet and well being by investing in health-related social wants, and is the latest instance of The Rockefeller Basis’s dedication to advancing Meals is Drugs applications. Final fall, the Basis and the American Coronary heart Affiliation, with inaugural associate Kroger, introduced a plan to mobilize $250 million to construct a nationwide Meals is Drugs Analysis Initiative, and in November 2022, the Basis dedicated $4.6 million in grants for equitable and community-directed Meals is Drugs approaches to stop, handle, and deal with diet-related sicknesses within the nation.
About The Rockefeller Basis
The Rockefeller Basis is a pioneering philanthropy constructed on collaborative partnerships on the frontiers of science, know-how, and innovation that allow people, households, and communities to flourish. We work to advertise the well-being of humanity and make alternative common and sustainable. Our focus is on scaling renewable vitality for all, stimulating financial mobility, and guaranteeing equitable entry to well being care and nutritious meals. For extra info, join our publication at rockefellerfoundation.org and observe us on Twitter @RockefellerFdn.
In regards to the Veterans Well being Administration
The VA’s Veterans Well being Administration is America’s largest built-in well being care system, offering care at 1,298 well being care amenities, together with 171 medical facilities and 1,113 outpatient websites of care of various complexity (VHA outpatient clinics), serving 9 million enrolled Veterans every year.
Media Contact
Davina Dukuly
The Rockefeller Basis
[email protected]
