It is now clearer than ever that healthy food is medicine, according to studies published in the April 2025 edition of Health Affairs magazine. Moveable Feast’s Medically Tailored Meal (MTM) programs were central in those studies, leading to better health, lower costs, and fewer hospitalizations for participants.
The new data came from the study commissioned by Moveable Feast and its Washington, D.C. counterpart, Food & Friends. A Baltimore-based meal delivery service, Moveable Feast pioneered the Food is Medicine approach in Maryland. It began as a response to the AIDS crisis nearly four decades ago and has evolved into a comprehensive program linking nutrition and quality healthcare.
The study looked for what impact, if any, Moveable Feast’s MTMs had on hospitalization utilization costs and potentially avoidable utilization (PAU) visits. The results showed that the program helped a significant percentage of patients with diet-sensitive conditions avoid hospitalization and save money.
Participants who received Moveable Feasts MTMs saw a 33% reduction in hospital charges, an average savings of $10,640 per patient over six months. There was a 21% drop in potentially avoidable inpatient hospitalizations and a 24% reduction in hospital visits. Additionally, the top 25%of spenders, who accounted for 77% of charges in the six-month period before getting medically tailored meals, saw a 59% reduction in hospital charges. This amounted to an average savings of $55,379 per patient over six months.
“Our clients have complex health and social needs, and navigating those systems to get
help can be confusing and stressful,” said Sue Elias, CEO of Moveable Feast, in a statement. “This data provides us with the opportunity to build on existing relationships with our
healthcare partners. Together, we can deliver more than food to Marylanders living with
serious chronic illnesses. We can deliver hope.”
The study’s results boost the argument that Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance should cover MTMs for patients with diet-sensitive conditions like renal disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and more.
“We hear from our clients every day that we’re making a difference in their lives, and these
results reinforce that: a reduction in hospitalizations represents more time that people feel
like themselves, and more time that they get to spend at home with family,” said Carrie
Stoltzfus, CEO of Food & Friends, in a statement. “We make a difference for individuals and for systems; we’re giving people the opportunity to live with dignity and stability during an illness, while easing the strain on our healthcare system.”
Food & Friends and Moveable Feast two of only 13 organizations nationwide that
have earned national accreditation from the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC). This is a prestigious recognition of their leadership in the field of delivering medically tailored meals, meaning their MTMs meet the highest standards of quality, safety, and evidenced-based practice.
Both organizations stress the study’s results demonstrate the need for broader integration of MTM services into healthcare systems. Food insecurity and diet-related disease are on the rise. The groups argue that MTMs are compassionate and cost-effective.
Moveable Feast’s program typically provides clients with 10 frozen, medically tailored entrees, a bag of around 10 servings of fresh fruits and/or vegetables, and when there are dependents living in the home, they include additional meals and grocery items for the dependents. Additionally, the delivery includes a friendly visit to let often-isolated people know they matter and that others care about them. They serve Baltimore City and 14 Maryland counties, some as far as 140 miles away from their Milton Avenue kitchen.
Combined, Moveable Feast and Food & Friends delivered more than 2.5 million meals last year across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. People facing cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, heart disease, and other serious illnesses had nourishing, healthy meals essential for their recovery and future well-being.
