New research featuring MANNA’s medically tailored meal program has been published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, adding to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the important role medically tailored meals can play in supporting the health of people living with complex medical needs.

The study, “Leveraging Health Information Exchange (HIE) Data to Demonstrate the Impact on Health Outcomes of Community Based Organization Interventions: Case Studies of Housing Placement and Medically Tailored Meal Program,” explores how health information exchange data can be used to better understand the impact of community-based organizations and interventions on health outcomes.

For the MANNA case study, researchers looked back at 786 participants and compared healthcare utilization and clinical measures during the year before and after enrollment in MANNA’s medically tailored meal program.

The findings were compelling. Participants experienced:
● A 20% reduction in inpatient stays
● An 18% reduction in emergency department visits
● A 5% reduction in average inpatient length of stay
● A 5% reduction in average HbA1C, from 8.22 to 7.78
● A 4% reduction in average BMI, from 33.6 to 32.2

All of these changes were statistically significant.

Looking Beyond the Clinical Setting
For people living with serious illnesses, managing health is about much more than what happens during a doctor’s appointment or hospital stay. Access to nutritious, medically appropriate food can be an essential part of managing a chronic or complex health condition.

MANNA’s medically tailored meals are designed to meet the specific nutritional needs of people living with serious illnesses, providing nourishment that supports their health while reducing the burden of preparing meals during an already challenging time.

This research helps demonstrate the value of looking beyond traditional clinical settings to understand what truly supports better health outcomes. Community-based organizations play a critical role in helping people access the resources they need to live healthier lives, and real-world health data can help us better measure that impact.

Strengthening the Evidence for Food is Medicine
The findings from this study add to the growing evidence behind the Food is Medicine movement and the role medically tailored meals can play as part of a comprehensive approach to healthcare.
They also highlight an important opportunity: by connecting healthcare data with the work happening in communities, researchers and healthcare leaders can gain a more complete picture of the factors that influence health.

At MANNA, we see every day how nutrition can be a powerful part of care. Research like this helps strengthen the evidence behind that work and underscores the importance of ensuring that people with complex medical needs have access to the nutrition and support they need to heal.

We are grateful to the researchers and partners who contributed to the intervention studies that informed this work. Their efforts help advance our understanding of how community-based interventions can improve health and reinforce the importance of connecting healthcare with the resources people need beyond the walls of a hospital or doctor’s office.
Food is Medicine and continued research helps us better understand just how meaningful that connection can be.