The Rockefeller Foundation has announced eight grants totaling $4.6 million to advance equitable and community-directed approaches to prevent, manage, and treat diet-related illnesses in the United States.

The investment will support grantees advancing “food is medicine” interventions focused on building partnerships to help people facing food insecurity or diet-related diseases gain more equitable access to foods that promote better health outcomes and reduce health costs. Grant recipients include About Fresh, Adelante Mujeres, Deep Medicine Circle, Harvard University Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, the Health Initiative, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and Wholesome Wave.

According to foundation, nearly 34 million people in the U.S. are facing food insecurity. Chronic and diet-related illnesses, which include cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes, are among the leading causes of death in the country, disproportionately affecting BIPOC and low-income communities. In addition, Americans annually pay $604 billion in healthcare costs directly attributable to diet-related diseases.

“We know healthy food is medicine, that patients in study after study benefit from it; but we also know that too few in the United States have access to this sort of food,” said Devon Klatell, vice president of the foundation’s food initiative. “[W]e’re investing in a food system that prioritizes nutrition, bringing partners together across the food and health sectors, and promoting data-driven policies to help bring good food—and better health outcomes—to millions of people across the country.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Charday Penn)