Sponsors (9)
The bill pilots federally funded, medically tailored nutrition and emergency-feeding supports to improve health and food access for vulnerable populations, but modest funding, competitive awards, and uncertain long-term support risk leaving many communities without sustained services and place administrative burdens on smaller providers.
People with diet-related chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) gain access to medically tailored food, meals, or prescriptions delivered through programs staffed by registered dietitians and emphasizing local/regional foods, which can improve health outcomes.
Low-income individuals gain reduced food-access barriers through funded transportation supports and on-site emergency feeding, improving immediate food security and access to services.
Local community organizations and healthcare providers receive dedicated grant funding (total $20M across FY2027–FY2031) to implement evidence-based nutrition programs, strengthening local service capacity and partnerships between health and community sectors.
Millions who could benefit may be left out because the $20 million total over five years is modest and likely limits the number and scale of programs that can be funded.
Communities and patients in areas whose proposals aren't selected receive no federal support, creating geographic gaps in access and uneven availability of medically tailored nutrition services.
Competitive grant processes may favor larger organizations with grant-writing capacity, disadvantaging smaller community groups and limiting community-led solutions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a USDA–HHS competitive pilot grant program to fund Food Is Medicine activities and authorizes $20,000,000 for FY2027–FY2031.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and administer a pilot program to provide grants to support Food is Medicine programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 12, 2026 by Robin L. Kelly · Last progress March 12, 2026
Creates a competitive USDA pilot grant program, run with HHS, to fund “Food is Medicine” activities that link medically tailored food, produce prescriptions, on-site feeding, nutrition education, and related services to improve diet-related health outcomes. The program must be set up within two years, prioritize projects that include local foods or registered dietitians and ensure geographic and urban/rural/tribal/territorial balance, and report to Congress on outcomes and costs. The bill authorizes $20,000,000 for the period FY2027–FY2031 for the pilot program, defines key terms (including “diet-related disease” and “Food is Medicine program”), and requires an initial report within two years of program establishment and an updated report within six years.