The Rockefeller Foundation has announced an increased investment of $80 million over the next five years to its Food is Medicine programs in the United States, boosting the total investment to $100 million.

The programs aim to improve domestic health outcomes where diet-related diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are a principal driver of deaths, disability, and healthcare costs. The announcement also marks the start of a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate the adoption of Food is Medicine in health systems. A large portion of the new funding will support research on the health and economic outcomes of Food is Medicine programs in diverse populations across the country in collaboration with the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food initiative, a multi-year effort to identify effective approaches for incorporating healthy food into health care.

According to the foundation, in the U.S., vulnerable groups—communities of color, rural communities, veterans, seniors, and low-income households—suffer disproportionately from diet-related disease and food insecurity and are burdened with higher healthcare expenditures. Chronic diseases, the vast majority of which are diet-related, account for 90 percent, or $3.8 trillion, of the nation’s annual healthcare budget. The Rockefeller Foundation plans to invest in public, private, and nonprofit organizations and collaborations to enhance and bolster Food is Medicine programs.

“For far too long, patients with diet-related diseases have faced barriers when trying to access the nutritious foods that can help them live healthier, fuller lives,” said Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv J. Shah. “Making Food is Medicine interventions a central part of routine health care can transform those lives as well as American health care, making it both more affordable and better able to prevent, manage, and treat such diseases.”

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