Food as Medicine: The Produce Industry’s Expanding Role

As a chef and Registered Dietitian at the intersection of nutrition and culinary innovation, my career revolves around food’s impact on health. But today, “food as medicine” programs — especially medically tailored meals, farmacy, and produce prescription initiatives — are opening vital new channels for the fresh produce industry, allowing us to nourish communities and grow markets in ways once unimaginable.

Over the past year, I’ve developed and designed the Medically Tailored Meals (MTM) program at Rethink Food, a New York City-based nonprofit addressing food insecurity. This innovative, no-cost meal delivery service supports eligible Medicaid recipients throughout New York City’s five boroughs and Long Island. Although the Medicaid 1115 waiver is available statewide, the Rethink Food program is specific to the greater NYC area.

Our work demonstrates just how critical high-quality fresh produce is to this emerging sector, and why produce businesses and commodity groups should be paying attention and getting involved.

MEDICALLY TAILORED MEALS: WHERE PRODUCE IS THE STAR

The heart of any successful food-as-medicine program is produce. In our MTM partnership with a local foodservice business, we’ve created a 28-day menu cycle focused on real, nutrient-dense ingredients. Each meal is crafted to support individuals with chronic illnesses — think meals rich in leafy greens, seasonal vegetables, hearty pulses, and fruits that freeze and transport well.

For growers, shippers and marketers, this isn’t just a feel-good mission. It’s a true growth market. Every week, we’re supplying frozen meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner — for hundreds of Medicaid recipients, and the demand will continue to climb as more people lose access to SNAP benefits. MTMs give produce suppliers a persistent, reliable customer base, as institutional buyers look for volume, variety and consistency.

Our work demonstrates just how critical high-quality fresh produce is to this emerging sector — and why produce businesses and commodity groups should be paying attention and getting involved.

But the opportunity goes deeper than sales. We rely on transparent sourcing and often highlight specific farm partners in our communications — think “asparagus from this company,” “strawberries from that farm,” or “these tomatoes featured in our signature chili.” Forward-thinking produce companies can benefit from this storytelling, using nutrition-sensitive programs as a platform to build brand and category awareness.

PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION & FARMACY PROGRAMS: A NEW SALES CHANNEL

“Farmacy” initiatives are another area primed for partnership. Over the summer and fall of 2025, I led a 12-week program with SBH Teaching Kitchen and Hospital in the Bronx, NY, where patients — many with limited incomes and chronic health risks — received weekly prescriptions for fresh produce. These bags weren’t just filled at random. We worked to ensure variety, freshness, and cultural relevance, delivering a meaningful introduction to new crops and easy ways to prepare them.

For produce marketers, these programs represent a direct touchpoint with families who might otherwise find fresh fruits and vegetables inaccessible — both because of price and supply chain limitations. There’s considerable interest among healthcare systems in partnering with local growers and aggregators to source for these programs, and opportunities abound for commodity boards to sponsor, co-brand, or help offset costs to boost health and demand.

THE TIME IS NOW

Much of this momentum is driven by healthcare policies. In New York, the New York State 1115 Medicaid waiver currently funds six months of medically tailored meals for qualifying patients; other states are exploring similar models. Private health insurers, especially on the West Coast, are testing health-focused food programs with companies like Performance Kitchen, often leaning heavily on frozen fruits and vegetables. If your business serves institutional buyers, now is the time to explore dialogue with hospital systems, nonprofits, and insurers looking for reliable, high-quality supply.

And these programs work. Studies funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and others are building the evidence that programs that deliver medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions are showing positive, measurable results for patients, such as reduced hospitalizations and ER visits; improved blood pressure and A1C; and lower health care costs — up to $24 billion annually, according to some estimates.

Of course, these opportunities aren’t without their challenges. Logistics remain key: Meals require produce that freezes and ships well; traceability and food safety are paramount. But those in the produce industry know how to meet exacting standards. What’s needed now is a nimble, collaborative approach — commodity boards and companies working with chefs, Registered Dietitians, and nonprofits to design offerings that fit the new “food as medicine” model.

THE BIG PICTURE

Most importantly, these initiatives are profoundly changing how Americans relate to fresh food. We’re not just talking about commodity trade anymore — we’re talking about being at the forefront of a preventive health revolution.

By joining the food as medicine movement, the produce industry has a chance to support public health, create new sources of demand, and embed fruits and vegetables deeper into the fabric of everyday life.

Abbie Gellman is a New York City-based Registered Dietitian and chef, consultant and author.