WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2024) – Food & Friends, a leading Washington, D.C. nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to individuals living with life-challenging illnesses, reached a significant milestone on July 11, 2024, delivering its 30 millionth meal. The recipient, a client in Washington, D.C., received the meal as part of Food & Friends’ ongoing mission to improve the lives and health of people living with serious illnesses.
Food & Friends delivered its first meals to neighbors in Washington, D.C. in 1988, during the height of the AIDS crisis. During their first year, meals were delivered by volunteers to neighbors diagnosed with HIV/AIDS with food donated by local restaurants. As the region’s leader in the Food is Medicine movement, the organization has expanded its reach and now serves a diverse array of clients across a 6,172-square-mile area in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. In 2023 alone, with the help of 4,000 volunteers, Food & Friends prepared and delivered 1.9 million medically tailored meals to more than 5,500 individuals living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart and renal disease, and other serious illnesses. Meals are free for the entire household, including dependents and caregivers, which is important since 65% of the households live on less than $1,500 a month.
“The delivery of our 30 millionth meal marks a major milestone for Food & Friends,” said Executive Director Carrie Stoltzfus, MPH. “As we serve our next 30 million meals, we strive to ensure that everyone facing a serious illness has the medically appropriate nutrition they need, in addition to social connection provided by volunteers and staff with each meal delivery.”
Food & Friends’ medically tailored meals are designed by registered dietitians to meet the medical needs of clients, helping to improve health outcomes, reduce rehospitalization, lower the cost of care, and manage the side effects of treatment. The organization provides 11 specialized meals plans tailored to support each client’s complex needs, including illness, medications, personal preferences, symptoms and side effects. As part of their comprehensive nutrition services, Food & Friends also offers all clients one-on-one nutritional counseling with a registered dietitian.
In a testament to the quality of their medically tailored meals, in April of 2024, Food & Friends became the first agency in the nation to receive accreditation under the Food is Medicine Coalitions’ Medically Tailored Meal Intervention Accreditation Criteria and Requirements. This new standard establishes a high level of quality and consistency for agencies delivering medically tailored meal interventions.
About Food & Friends: Food & Friends is the only community-based organization in the D.C. region providing home-delivered medically tailored meals and medical nutrition therapy to our neighbors living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses. Food & Friends’ services are free of charge to recipients who qualify solely based on their health status and nutritional needs. Monday-Saturday, including holidays, staff and volunteers deliver to 6,172 square miles including the District of Columbia, nine counties in Maryland, and seven counties and six independent cities in Virginia. Since 1988, Food & Friends has delivered more than 30 million meals to 47,000 individuals.
Media Contact:
Mike Schafer
Communications Manager
Email: mschafer@foodandfriends.org
Phone: (202) 269-6841