Instacart, health care provider to study results of better access to nutrition

The Food as Medicine movement just got even more real for the fresh produce industry.

Instacart and health care provider Kaiser Permanente are going to study how convenient access to nutritious food affects health outcomes.

Lack of proper nutrition is the No. 1 driver of poor health outcomes in the U.S., contributing to higher rates of diet-related diseases, according to a news release. Barriers to food and nutrition access are not experienced equally, with low-income and rural communities and historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups being most impacted by food and nutrition insecurity.

The study will target Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Southern California Medi-Cal members who have diet-related diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and chronic heart failure, according to the release.

Kaiser Permanente will provide participants with Instacart Health Fresh Funds, grocery stipends that can be used to purchase nutritious foods and pantry staples — such as fresh and frozen produce, legumes, plant-based oils and spices — from a curated virtual storefront. Participants will have items delivered to their homes via Instacart.

This is Kaiser Permanente's latest addition to its Food Is Medicine portfolio, that includes building the evidence base for food-based interventions to treat and prevent diet-related disease, according to the release. These efforts include support for medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions, targeted to meet specific nutrition needs.

The study will measure the effects of providing funds to purchase nutritious groceries for Medi-Cal patients with diet-related diseases. It will measure blood sugar levels as compared to the usual standard of care, reported food and nutrition security, diet-related disease quality of life, patient readiness to change, and hospitalization or emergency department visits. The results will provide further evidence on the effect of Food Is Medicine on health and the health care industry.

Related: Instacart's new tools to help independent grocers, along with big retailers

The expansion of Section 1115 Medicaid waivers nationwide provides an additional avenue to scale creative, effective health interventions such as Food Is Medicine programs, and this research will contribute to understanding innovative, scalable ways to improve diet-related health of the most vulnerable populations, the release said.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we know that without access to nutritious food, individuals are less likely to stay healthy, increasing the likelihood of new and widening health disparities and health care costs," Anand Shah, Kaiser’s vice president of social health, said in the release.

In 2022, Kaiser Permanente joined national leaders in food and nutrition at the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to discuss strategies to address the nation's food and diet-related challenges. Coinciding with the event, Kaiser Permanente announced a $50 million Food Is Medicine commitment to strengthen food and nutrition security programs while building evidence for the ways food can treat and prevent certain health conditions.

At the same time, Instacart launched the company's health initiative to leverage its platform, partnerships and products to increase nutrition security, enable nutritious choices and scale food as medicine programs across the country.

“We’re dedicated to addressing nutrition insecurity, and by leveraging our technology, significant reach and retail partnerships, we can help families across the country get nutritious foods delivered through Instacart," Instacart Health Vice President and General Manager Sarah Mastrorocco said in the release. “We know access can lead to better health outcomes.”

In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 100 million people in the U.S. suffer from diet-related disease, Mastrorocco wrote in a blog post.

She also cited a September report from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University that shows food as medicine interventions would improve or lengthen the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and reduce healthcare costs.

“The study found that incorporating targeted food and nutrition strategies into healthcare on a national level will improve health and quality of life, reduce work for hospitals and cut costs,” she wrote.

Pamela Schwartz, executive director of food security at Kaiser Permanente, said she knows food and nutrition insecurity is felt by the people Kaiser serves, as well as for millions of people nationwide.

“Identifying best practices to address these inequities is essential to building healthier communities,” Schwartz said.

Instacart partners with more than 1,400 national, regional and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 80,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace.

Kaiser Permanente has 12.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.