Dive Brief:
- Instacart announced Friday an upcoming study with Kaiser Permanente that will explore nutritious food access.
- Participants will receive Instacart grocery stipends known as Fresh Funds to shop for food on a virtual storefront using medically tailored nutrition advice.
- The study will measure the effects of providing these funds to Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Southern California Medi-Cal members with diet-related diseases such as diabetes and chronic heart failure.
Dive Insight:
The study is the latest effort by Instacart to advance its food-as-medicine programs, providing further evidence the impact of food nutrition offerings have on health and the healthcare industry.
“Nutrition and health are deeply intertwined, but far too many people lack reliable access to nutritious foods,” Instacart Vice President and General Manager of Health Sarah Mastrorocco said in a blog post.
For the study, participants will be able to use Instacart Health Fresh Funds to buy items like fresh and frozen produce, legumes and plant-based oils and spices from Kaiser Permanente’s curated Instacart virtual storefront for delivery.
The study will measure participants’ blood sugar levels as compared to the usual standard of care, reported food and nutrition security, diet-related disease quality of life, patient readiness to change and hospitalization or emergency department visits.
Mastrorocco said the study will not only allow participants to take immediate action on their providers’ medically tailored nutrition advice but will also give them dignity of choice by “empowering participants to use their Fresh Funds to select the items that work best for them from Kaiser Permanente’s recommended products.”
Kaiser Permanente said in its announcement that lack of proper nutrition is the main cause of poor health outcomes in the U.S., noting that food and nutrition access obstacles are not experienced equally, with low-income and rural communities, and historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups being the most impacted by nutrition insecurity.
This study builds on Instacart’s announcement earlier this year that it planned to give health providers, health systems and hospitals the ability to scale food-as-medicine programs, as well as launch four research projects looking at how food-as-medicine programs impact different patient groups.
Instacart has been making strides in the healthcare and food-as-medicine space since unveiling its sweeping health-focused initiative called Instacart Health in September 2022.
In recent weeks Instacart announced it will provide Instacart Health Fresh Funds grocery stipends to select post-operative and post-partum patients insured by a health plan sponsored by a Mount Sinai Solutions employer or union customer. Separately, Instacart unveiled two new programs through Instacart Health aimed at supporting seniors.
In March, Instacart and nonprofit Partnership for a Healthier America launched a new nutrition security program for families in need that will initially start in Indianapolis before expanding to more cities throughout the year. The program will offer Instacart Health Fresh Funds stipends and also provide participants with a complimentary Instacart+ membership for four months.
