Frank is struggling to pay for his home and the medications he needs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a condition that makes it difficult for him to breath. To help his budget and ensure he has access to nutritious, ready-made meals, he enrolled in Southwestern Health Resources’ new medically tailored meals program, which launched in June.
Frank will receive 14 free meals each week for up to 12 weeks. He is receiving support now while SWHR Community Health Workers help him apply for assistance from local food banks and other nonprofit organizations, a process which can take time to complete.
“We’re having trouble affording everything,” shares Frank. “The meals help us so we don’t have to worry about what we’re going to eat.”
These meals are “medically tailored” because they meet the nutrition requirements for multiple conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Frank says he’s eating more vegetables thanks to the provided meals. He’s been sharing the benefits of the program with his neighbors.
SWHR is covering the cost of the meals, which come from Roots Food Group. Participants have to be patients of physicians within the SWHR clinically integrated network and high risk for unplanned hospital admissions. In addition, recipients must live within a ZIP code that’s considered low income, one that may have limited access to healthy food options such as large grocery stores or healthy restaurants.
Sarah is another participant in the program. She has diabetes and hypertension. Sarah is a person who lives below the poverty line and struggles to afford food. The medically tailored meals ensure her diet now has more variety, as she didn’t eat cauliflower, broccoli or peas before receiving these meals. She credits the additional fiber with providing immediate health benefits.
“I can’t stand long enough to do a lot of cooking, so I need something that’s already prepared,” she adds.
SWHR helped connect Sarah with a transportation solution so she could visit her primary care provider. Thanks to improved access to her PCP, she discovered she needed eye surgery. Because the medically tailored meals program is considered a temporary or stop-gap solution, SHWR has been helping Sarah arrange for food assistance from the Tarrant Area Food Bank.
Tanika Carr, an SWHR Registered Dietitian, connects with Frank, Sarah and the other 10 participants currently in the medically tailored meals program. Tanika is actively working to add others to the program.
The long-term goal of medically tailored meals is to help participants become healthier and stay out of the hospital, which ultimately saves money and supports the SWHR commitment to preventive care as a path to improved population health.
“There’s a lot more food insecurity that people don’t talk about or think about,” Tanika says. “People are ashamed to admit when they don’t have money for food. It becomes, ‘I can buy food or medication’ (but not both). Providing healthy meals allows them to see what a healthier option looks like, what a healthy portion looks like, so they have better nutrition and don’t have to constantly go to the doctor.”
About 13% of North Texans face food insecurity, according to Feeding America, a charity working to end hunger in America. Since it’s often cheaper to buy highly processed foods than nutritious meals, this behavior can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes for the food insecure.
“To have that understanding of, ‘I ate these healthy meals for three months and didn’t have to go to the hospital. I didn’t have to increase my medication because the numbers were controlled.’ That makes a huge difference,” Tanika says.
