Home delivered, medically tailored groceries improve diabetes control, reports research

A study from researchers at top US health insurance and medical services provider Kaiser Permanente, the Food is Medicine Institute at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and The George Institute for Global Health found medically tailored grocery deliveries improved blood sugar control among adults living with type 2 diabetes who have public health insurance, when compared with usual care. The findings show that integrating Food is Medicine approaches into clinical care can improve both diabetes outcomes and food and nutrition security for patients. The study is published in the journal Circulation.

“This trial shows that food-based support can help patients with low incomes lower their blood sugar levels above and beyond the health care they receive. said the study’s lead author, Claudia Nau, PhD, a researcher with Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. “Our findings suggest that addressing access to healthy food can play a meaningful role in diabetes care for patients, particularly those facing economic and social barriers.”

The study was a randomized controlled trial conducted within Kaiser Permanente Southern California to examine whether medically tailored grocery deliveries could improve blood sugar control among adults with type 2 diabetes. Researchers enrolled 460 Medicaid insured patients with persistently elevated blood sugar levels who were receiving care at 12 medical office buildings across Southern California. Participants were recruited between November 2021 and July 2022 and followed for six months.

Participants were randomly assigned to receive usual care or one of two monthly amounts of medically tailored groceries (averaging about $135 or $175) paired with support, which included weekly home deliveries of healthy foods scaled to household size, culturally tailored recipes, and access to phone based nutrition counseling. Researchers compared changes in blood sugar and food related outcomes using electronic health records and participant surveys.

Key findings include:

• Participants who received medically tailored groceries had greater improvements in blood sugar than those receiving usual care, with an additional 0.40 point reduction in HbA1c over six months.

• Among those who received groceries, the odds of food security increased by nearly 215 percent and nutrition security increased by 365 percent.

• Blood sugar improvements were similar whether participants received the higher or lower level of medically tailored groceries.

The findings add to the growing Food is Medicine literature by providing evidence in a randomized controlled trial that medically tailored grocery programs can improve both clinical outcomes and food related conditions that influence health. By focusing on a Medicaid insured population with persistently poor glycemic control, the study helps fill an evidence gap and supports the integration of food-based interventions into routine diabetes care.

“These trial results further demonstrate that healthy food can be a powerful tool in treatment and management of chronic disease,” said senior author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School at Tufts. “Incorporating Food is Medicine programs, like medically tailored groceries, into Medicaid benefits recognizes nutrition as a fundamental component of health and can lead to better patient outcomes.”

“For too long nutrition has been an afterthought in healthcare, despite poor diets driving immense disease burden and healthcare costs globally - not just in the United States,” said Dr Jason Wu, Head of Nutrition Science at The George Institute for Global Health and a co-Principle Investigator for the trial. “Beyond informing local policies – such as those for health systems and payers designing Food is Medicine benefits – hopefully this study will also be a catalyst for policymakers to begin investing in, and testing similar programs worldwide.”

Reference:

Nau, C., et al. (2026). Effects of a “Food Is Medicine” Intervention on Glucose Control Among Medicaid-Insured Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Circulation. DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.125.077982. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077982