The design of FIM programs is shaped by three things: the scientific evidence, the needs of the patients you serve, and the resources and priorities of your health system.
While programs can look different across settings, the strongest ones aim to improve patient outcomes, are practical to implement, and offer good value to the health system.
FIM interventions vary in intensity, cost, and expected impact. Choosing the right model starts with understanding your population, how medically complex they are, and the specific barriers they face in accessing or eating healthy food.
FIM program models include:
- Medically Tailored Meals for patients with high medical complexity and any social risks
- Medically Tailored Groceries for patients with moderate medical complexity and any social risks
- Produce Prescription Programs for patients with low medical complexity and any social risks
- Nutrition Education for all patients to support sustained behavior change
Review standard definitions for each FIM intervention here.
Example Patient Status
Stable diabetes, low to moderate social risk
Worsening diabetes control or new social risk (e.g., lost job, caregiving strain)
Acute health event, severe uncontrolled diabetes, physical limitations
Recovered stability
Recommended Support
Produce Prescriptions (PRx)
Medically Tailored Groceries (MTG)
Medically Tailored Meals (MTM)
Nutrition Education alone
Goal
Maintain diabetes control, encourage healthy habits
Improve diabetes control, address emergent social risk (e.g., food insecurity)
Stabilize health, prevent readmission, address physical limitations to healthy eating
Transition to self-management
See how this tool works in practice. Click through this decision support tool to find the program model that will help you match program intensity to population need for the greatest impact.
Food is Medicine Program Selection
These recommendations are intended as a guide to help identify the Food is Medicine program model that best fits your population's clinical and social risk profile.
They are not prescriptive. Every organization will have unique operational, budgetary, and community considerations. Further, shared decision-making within your care teams and with community partners should inform how programs are implemented, adapted, and scaled over time.
Which program model is right for your population?
Explore this interactive tool to identify the best-fit intervention to match program intensity to population need and optimize impact.
Question 1
How well controlled is diabetes within your population?
Question 2
How medically complex is your population, or how high is their risk for adverse health events?
Question 3
How difficult is it for your population to access healthy food?
Recommended FIM Program
Selecting the Best Fit FIM Program ▶