Instacart teams up with Maxwell and VA to deliver nutritious meals to nearby veteran community
In Central New York, a team of researchers, led by Colleen Heflin, a professor of public administration and international affairs, are spearheading a groundbreaking project to combat food insecurity among military veterans. This initiative, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' broader Food is Medicine effort, aims to provide veterans with increased access to healthy food and nutrition education.
Heflin and her team, which includes graduate students Jack Baldwin, Ashraf Haque, and Hyeryung Jo, have chosen to focus on veterans residing in rural areas, many of whom have diagnosed conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, or obesity that are sensitive to diet and nutrition. The Syracuse VA and Maxwell research team hope to enroll approximately 600 participants in the study later this summer.
The goal of the study is to determine whether increased access to healthy food and nutrition education can lead to measurable health improvements over time. This project has the potential to influence other public health programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, or state-level food and nutrition services. The findings from the study aim to inform future VA policy and potentially expand access to similar services for veterans nationwide.
The collaborative effort to address food insecurity for veterans in the Syracuse area has received funding from organizations like The Rockefeller Foundation and the New York Health Foundation, and support from Instacart. The project includes a pilot program that provides eligible veterans with monthly Instacart vouchers, called Fresh Funds, for purchasing healthy groceries. In addition to the food subsidy, participants will receive nutritional support through cooking classes and individual counseling from a registered dietician.
Hannah Patnaik, managing director of the X Lab and Food is Medicine project lead for the lab, expresses excitement about the project and the potential impact on a rural veteran population. The collaboration also involves the University of Utah, 4P Foods, Duke University, AboutFresh, and Reinvestment Partners.
For Heflin, the project is motivated by the chance to improve somebody's day-to-day life. She has spent decades studying food policy and federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Heflin expresses hope that the project's use of rigorous scientific methods will move health insurance policy both within the VA and within the larger community.
The Rockefeller Foundation, the New York Health Foundation, and Instacart are providing external support for the collaborative effort. In fact, the Rockefeller Foundation has pledged $100 million to support the expansion of Food Is Medicine initiatives.
As the study uses a rigorous, randomized controlled trial design and will be conducted remotely, veterans can participate from their homes. Other researchers involved in the collaboration on studying food insecurity among veterans include Julia A. Wolfson and James P. Ziliak.
This project represents an opportunity for Heflin to bring together academic research and real-world impact, bridging the gap between theory and practice. The team's work underscores the importance of addressing food insecurity for our nation's veterans and the potential for innovative collaborations to drive positive change.
