Our Partnerships
As members of the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), Food & Friends plays a central role in the growing Food is Medicine movement. FIMC is an association of nonprofit medically tailored food and nutrition service providers that promotes advocacy, best practices, and research with the goal of making medically tailored meals and nutrition therapy a central part of our overall healthcare system.
Food & Friends has become the first agency to earn accreditation from the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC). This accreditation marks the implementation of the FIMC Medically Tailored Meal Intervention Accreditation Criteria and Requirements (FIMC MTM ACR), setting a new national standard for agencies delivering medically tailored meal interventions. The FIMC MTM ACR is a groundbreaking standard designed to ensure the highest quality of care for individuals living with life-challenging illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and kidney failure. FIMC Accreditation provides guidelines for agencies delivering MTM interventions, establishing consistency and standards in the food is medicine field.
Food & Friends is partnering on a Care Transition Pilot Program with George Washington University Hospital to provide home-delivered, medically tailored meals and nutrition support to high-risk coronary patients being discharged from the hospital. Within 48 hours of their hospital discharge they will be enrolled in our program to receive meals and connected with one of our registered dietitians. Beginning December 1, 2021, we expect to provide our medically tailored meals and nutrition support for 50 individuals for three months each with the goal of reducing rehospitalizations and improving their health outcomes.
Food & Friends is partnering with Meritus Health in Hagerstown, MD to expand access and increase equitable care for Washington County residents via a grant from the Maryland Department of Health and the Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC). We are providing medically tailored meals, groceries and medical nutrition therapy to patients living with type II diabetes with goals to reduce A1c values and healthcare utilization and to improve health outcomes and food security.