Evolving Standards for Food as Medicine: A Welcome Advance

Food as Medicine leader applauds new standards for medically tailored meals.

BIRMINGHAM, MI, USA, April 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New quality standards have been proposed by the Food is Medicine Coalition for medically tailored meal services offered by nonprofit agencies. This move was made as more and more entities offer what they call medically tailored meals, but without clear standards or oversight. The Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) is an association of community-based nonprofit food providers whose new accreditation ensures that all medically tailored meal providers adhere to stringent standards.

Tangelo, an award-winning food-as-medicine platform that offers medically tailored meals, applauds the recent announcement. A company dedicated to scientifically validated methodologies, Tangelo uses evidence-based strategies for its food prescriptions, as well as objectively measured outcomes to prove ROI. Tangelo CMO, Dr. David L. Katz, says, "Adherence to rigorous standards solidifies the scientific foundation for medically tailored meal programs. This initiative not only enhances the credibility of food as a form of medicine but also paves the way for more robust, evidence-based interventions.”

The FIMC initiative focuses on the fidelity of medically tailored meals programs, which are designed to manage or prevent specific conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Because successful intervention outcomes inform program standards and ensure future funding, operational rigor is imperative. Evidence-based research on food’s impact on health helps integrate food into healthcare, and thus requires a systematic, monitored approach.

With the growing importance and reach of the food-as-medicine movement, a failure to set standards for medically tailored meal interventions was a potential threat to quality, and credibility. Standardized criteria help ensure equity of access across the country, establish acceptable nutrition guidelines, and ensure compliance to the highest quality operations and service. Compliant organizations must, for example, provide medical nutrition therapy by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, comply with HIPAA regulations, adhere to strict nutrient and food quality standards, and maintain stringent quality control protocols.

Tangelo employs top academic, culinary, and clinical leaders in Food as Medicine, and follows industry-leading standards for nutritional quality. All food prescriptions are compliant with leading health organizations’ recommendations and incorporate fresh, local-first ingredients without additives or fillers. Furthermore, Tangelo’s meals are culturally appropriate, personalized for food allergies, and are self-selected to honor preference and ensure compliance.

Dr. Yen Ang, Tangelo VP of Health Equity, says, "Food-as-Medicine services benefit the most people who face diet-related diseases yet cannot afford healthy food--many of whom are ethnic minorities and low income individuals. Tangelo champions for a food-based intervention that closes health disparity, eliminates health inequity, and uplifts everyone’s health. To achieve this, Tangelo sets a high standard for Food-as-Medicine services, from diet assessment to food choices, by ensuring they are both scientifically driven and culturally appropriate."

As a national leader in Food as Medicine, Tangelo addresses both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity by ensuring that the meals do not just satisfy hunger, but are of high nutrition quality. Tangelo leverages patented, data-driven technology to measure and track diet quality and improvement, chronic disease risk, and ROI over time. Such capability helps stakeholders make informed decisions relating to policies that might impact program improvement, future funding, and innovative services. The company also provides multilingual, personalized nutrition education using an evergreen curriculum designed to sharpen cooking skills, improve nutrition literacy, and teach individuals how to choose fresh, affordable ingredients with confidence.

According to Tangelo CEO, Jeremy Cooley, “New quality control standards help ensure that medically tailored meals remain a reliable and effective intervention for those in need, further embedding the principle of nutrition as a cornerstone of health care. We are proud to consistently exceed these standards in order to deliver top-notch service to all members.”

The introduction of these stringent standards by the Food is Medicine Coalition represents a significant step forward in ensuring the quality and efficacy of medically tailored meal programs. However, the ultimate success of these initiatives goes beyond mere adherence to standards. It requires the integration of personalized food prescriptions and the meticulous measurement of diet quality to truly impact health outcomes and guide the development of future programs. Tangelo is uniquely positioned to meet and surpass these requirements at scale, leveraging its expertise in delivering scientifically backed, culturally sensitive food prescriptions and employing advanced data analytics to measure and enhance diet quality. This dual capability not only ensures that Tangelo remains at the vanguard of the Food-as-Medicine movement, but also guarantees that its interventions are among the most impactful in improving health and reducing disparities across diverse populations.

About Tangelo: Tangelo is a marketplace platform for enabling the prescription of food, supply chain management, and outcomes measurement needed to scale Food as Medicine. It offers members a choice of personalized, medically tailored foods, provides equity across food suppliers, and standardizes the measurement of diet quality as a vital sign. Tangelo’s risk-based, scalable coverage of food prescriptions and outcomes measurement prove return on investment. For more information, visit jointangelo.com.

Nate Bernstein
Tangelo
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