At Neighborhood Health Center in Indiana, a pioneering partnership with Gleaners Food Bank is redefining healthcare by integrating food access into medical treatment, improving chronic disease management and reducing hospital visits.
At Neighborhood Health Center in Liberty, Indiana, staff are treating food access as part of health care, not something separate from it. Through a partnership with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, patients using Gleaners2Go can pick up groceries at participating sites, while clinicians help steer choices towards foods that fit conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Megan Brown, the centre’s care coordination supervisor, said staff can take account of a patient’s needs when helping with selections, including limiting sodium for some patients and sugar for others. Brown said the clinic increasingly sees the programme as a form of food as medicine, because it supports healthier decisions outside the surgery.
For some patients, the impact can be substantial. Shannon Shuman, a family nurse practitioner at the centre, described one participant who lost more than 100 pounds, brought their A1C down enough to stop using insulin and, as mobility improved, was also able to reduce arthritis medication. Shuman said the changes were not down to food support alone, but argued that reliable access to nutritious groceries can make it easier for patients to follow treatment plans and maintain healthier habits.
The wider case for such programmes is gaining attention. An evaluation by Feeding America and Elevance Health screened 1.45 million people for food insecurity and linked more than 161,000 households to food resources, finding a 14% fall in hospital admissions and an 11% drop in emergency department visits among participants. Gleaners Food Bank says its broader work, including Gleaners2Go, is part of a larger effort to expand access to nutritious food, alongside a 2024 impact report that recorded more than 97 million meals distributed and a 2025 report that put the figure at more than 102 million.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
