This article is published in observance of National Nutrition Month.
Byline: Katelyn Smoger, director, Food is Medicine and The Farm, Trinity Health Michigan
Food is Medicine. Health by Food. ProduceRx. The integration of healthy food into healthcare is gaining attention under many names, but the message remains the same: access to healthy foods as a part of care.
Programs such as produce prescriptions, healthy food packs and medically tailored meals are gaining attention as cost-effective ways to treat and prevent diet-related chronic illnesses.
In Michigan, 55% of residents have a diet-related chronic condition, and nearly 20% are managing that condition while living below 200% of the federal poverty level. In 2026, that income is less than $30,000 for a single adult. Economic instability, food insecurity, limited access to transportation and housing instability are all factors that affect overall health.
Trinity Health Michigan’s Food is Medicine program, a core pillar of community health and well-being, combines social and clinical care by offering locally grown food to patients experiencing food or nutrition insecurity or managing a diet-related chronic disease. This integration addresses underlying barriers to good health while improving outcomes, reducing the cost of care and enhancing the patient experience.
Our program operates out of three locations: Muskegon, Pontiac and Ypsilanti. Each location offers five core areas of integration, offering providers, patients and community members a range of interventions that meet them where they are.
Produce to Patients
Food produced at the hospital-based farm is donated to clinical partners. In 2025, 30,000 lbs. of food was harvested at The Farm and distributed to clinical partners, becoming a tool for providers to have authentic, human-centered conversations about healthy eating and access to food, while supporting improved health screenings. Patients identified with food-related needs are then referred to the Food is Medicine team within Epic, where they can access additional resources.
Client Choice, On Campus Food Pantries
Offering healthy food items such as dairy, shelf-stable proteins, dry goods, fruits and vegetables at campus food pantries creates opportunities for patients and community members to eat a nutritious diet regardless of their economic situation. Pantries can be accessed by recipients themselves or supported by acute care teams, ensuring that there is food available at discharge for patients in need. The food pantries were shopped more than 6,000 times in 2025.
Farm Markets
In-season, weekly markets offer fresh, local food for purchase, creating access points for high-quality fruits and vegetables in communities identified by the USDA as having limited access by foot or vehicle. In addition to cash, credit and payroll, the market also accepts SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks and Produce Prescriptions.
Education
Education and engagement are interwoven throughout Food is Medicine. Nutrition education, medical resident rotations, youth education and field trips, workshops and weekly engagement tables make Food is Medicine programming fun, approachable and meaningful, keeping children and adults alike trying new foods and developing an understanding of how those foods impact their health.
The Farm Share
A weekly box of locally grown produce is offered to participating members from April through December. Designed to make Food is Medicine accessible, The Farm Share offers nine types of membership, a five-day pick-up window and a weekly newsletter that includes healthy recipes, information on the farmers and storage tips. In 2025, nearly 900 unique members participated in the program across the state. More than 60% of those members received the program at no cost after being screened for food insecurity. A 2024 evaluation of the program, funded by The Michigan Health Endowment Fund, found that participants’ food security increased by 125%.
Food is Medicine programs can serve as economic drivers that support and strengthen the communities we serve when implemented in ways that prioritize the procurement and distribution of locally grown food. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ In lieu of services policy, which offers food and nutrition services to eligible Medicaid enrollees, is among the first in the nation to require Medicaid Health Plans to utilize local vendors participating in the Michigan food economy. From Farm to FIM, a recent report published by The Rockefeller Foundation identified that Food is Medicine programs in Michigan have the potential to add 13,330 jobs and more than $2 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.
As Food is Medicine programs are implemented across the state, I encourage healthcare leaders to recognize the opportunity at hand: clinical integration, cross-sector collaboration and community-based partnerships can transform how the world thinks about and participates in healthcare.
