New Report Highlights 'AHN Healthy Food Center' as an Innovative Model for Addressing Food Insecurity

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Press Releases Center for Inclusion Health Medicine Institute

Now operating out of six AHN hospitals, the program has provided nearly 500,000 meals to approximately 50,000 Western Pennsylvanians

Healthy Food Center B-roll reel: https://f.io/EKd4QXVX

PITTSBURGH - A new report published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics highlights the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Healthy Food Center (HFC) as an innovative model for addressing food insecurity across Western Pennsylvania. Titled "Food as Medicine Program Addresses Community Needs and Empowers Patients: The Allegheny Health Network Healthy Food Centers," the report details the findings from a five-year quality improvement project evaluating the utilization of the HFC over time since its inception and its influence on food access and overall health status.

The first HFC launched in 2018 at AHN West Penn Hospital as a novel program in the Greater Pittsburgh region, providing free, nutritious foods and nutrition counseling to patients who are food insecure and often struggle to properly manage health conditions. Now operating out of six AHN hospitals, the program has provided nearly 500,000 meals to approximately 50,000 people, including patients and their household members, to date.

The report is authored by clinicians from the HFC, part of the AHN Center for Inclusion Health and the AHN Medicine Institute, including Tori Beggs, RD, LDN; Bruce Ling, MD, MPH; Alexandra Cardy, DO; Colleen Ereditario, MPH, RD, LDN; and Elizabeth Cuevas, MD.

"Our findings show that the Healthy Food Center is a proven, scalable and adaptable model for tackling food insecurity. This is demonstrated by its year-over-year growth in both locations and patient volume, its impact on the health and wellbeing of patients, and its resilience in adapting to challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dr. Cuevas, division chief, AHN Center for Inclusion Health.

Throughout the initiative, which spanned the launch of the first HFC in 2018 to the opening of the fifth location at AHN Forbes Hospital in 2022, more than 50 percent of patients who submitted surveys regarding their experience reported that the HFC helped to improve their access to healthy foods, decrease stress, increase intake of fruits and vegetables and save money on food.

In addition to the HFC locations at West Penn and Forbes, other HFCs are currently located at AHN's Allegheny Valley, Allegheny General and Jefferson hospitals in the Greater Pittsburgh region and at AHN Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa.

The report also details how the AHN HFC is unique in its approach to addressing food insecurity compared to other 'food as medicine' programs that exist across the country. Notably, while many programs' criteria for participation include a diagnosis of a chronic disease such as heart disease or Type 2 diabetes, the AHN program serves any patient who is referred by their doctor following a positive screening for food insecurity.

"Built on the foundation of AHN and Highmark Health's infrastructure to address social determinants of health for all, this more inclusive approach aims to reach as many patients as possible to help them overcome food insecurity as a major barrier to good health," said Cuevas.

Another highlighted and unique component of the HFC is its comprehensive approach to care, which brings many common elements of other produce-prescription and food pharmacy programs together under one roof. Rather than patients visiting multiple locations to obtain needed services, they can receive at one HFC location nutrition education and counseling, connections with social services, free healthy foods of their choice, cooking utensils and produce prescription coupons - all while developing supportive relationships with staff.

To combat the challenge of sustainability commonly faced by similar programs, the report notes that the AHN HFC is strongly supported by a combination of grant funding and strong community partnerships which provide valuable resources, expertise and a shared commitment to addressing food insecurity.

"The AHN Healthy Food Center is a groundbreaking model for addressing food insecurity, unlike anything else in the country," said Susan Manzi, MD, MPH, chair, AHN Medicine Institute. "We commend the HFC team for their dedication to tackling this critical issue in our region and for inspiring other health institutions to follow their lead."

To learn more, visit https://www.ahn.org/services/medicine/center-for-inclusion-health/healthy-food-center.

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