Unique partnership expands access to medically tailored meals and nutrition services for Coloradans
Thanks to generous funding from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado’s Foundation, Project Angel Heart is pleased to announce a unique partnership to expand access to medically tailored meals and nutrition services for Coloradans.
The Rapid Equitable Nutrition Outcomes for People with Diabetes program aims to improve clinical outcomes for food-insecure individuals with diabetes by delivering an estimated 30,000 meals to over 160 families in Colorado and California through 2026. Coordinated by the national Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), Project Angel Heart received generous funding to administer the program in Colorado.
“We know that diet is an important tool for managing type 2 diabetes because it is a modifiable factor that can reduce the risk, severity, and progression of the disease,” said Kate Johnston, Project Angel Heart’s chief operating officer. “Unfortunately, many individuals lack the resources needed to afford or access nutritious food. Our program helps people incorporate healthy eating into their daily routine by delivering flavorful, healthy meals to their homes, paired with nutrition education to make the change sustainable.”
Through the program, each week for 26 weeks, each participant will receive a delivery to their home of seven made-from-scratch medically tailored meals. Participants will also be offered nutrition education and counseling services with our registered dietitians to ensure they have the tools they need to make informed choices about the foods they eat beyond the meals we provide.
In addition to alleviating hunger and improving overall well-being for participants, we also anticipate improvement in health outcomes, including better management of diabetes through improved HbA1c levels and a reduction in emergency department visits.
“Thanks to Denver Health, our clinical partner for this program, we’ll be able to evaluate the impact of our meals on these clinical outcome measures,” continued Johnston. “These data will help us build additional clinical partnerships in the future, bringing the benefits of medically tailored meals and nutrition supports to even more Coloradans in need.”
What’s more, field-wide learnings and best practices from the project will be disseminated through the national Food is Medicine Coalition. We’re grateful for Anthem’s generous investment in food is medicine programs and look forward to sharing our learnings and results from this partnership in late 2026.
