The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana received a $450,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Elevance Health Foundation, to continue the ‘Food as Medicine’ program. This initiative will support the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana as it collaborates with local healthcare providers to screen patients for food insecurity during health care visits. The health care partner will then connect patients who screen positive for food insecurity to food assistance resources onsite at health care facilities and at community-based food pantries and meal programs.
The ‘Food as Medicine’ program, a Feeding America® initiative funded by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, will help connect approximately 4,000 people facing hunger in Lake and Porter Counties to food distribution programs that provide access to healthy food options. The program will screen patients over the next three years with the goal of improving food security and health outcomes. This phase of the program will help the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and local health care partners implement enhanced data collection, sharing and analysis to better understand the needs of people facing hunger and deliver effective solutions.
“This investment by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is critical to better reach people where they are by maximizing avenues to get nourishing food to food insecure neighbors. Our partnerships with area healthcare providers are growing and this will strengthen them greatly. The impact of this direction on the health of the community continues to unfold,” said Amy Briseño, VP Development & Communications, Food Bank of Northwest Indiana
“Access to food is essential to good health,” said Beth Keyser, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “We are committed to improving the health of people across Indiana, and we do that by establishing meaningful partnerships and collaborating with organizations like the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana that work to address the social factors that often prevent individuals from living a healthy life.”
The lack of access to nutritious foods can have serious, long-term effects on health and well-being, and it can make managing existing chronic conditions more difficult for people facing hunger.[1] The ‘Food as Medicine’ program includes data collection capabilities that will help identify learnings and best practices to enable positive health outcomes in participants. The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is a member of the Feeding America network, is one of 21 food banks to receive this funding from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation.
[1] “Causes and Consequences of Food Insecurity.” Hunger and Health, 5 May 2022, https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity/hunger-health-101/.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a philanthropic arm of the Elevance Health Foundation. The Foundation works to address health equity by focusing on improving the health of the socially vulnerable through strategic partnerships and programs in our communities with an emphasis on maternal child health; mental health; and food as medicine. Additionally, the Foundation responds to disasters when our communities need us the most. The Foundation also coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation and the Elevance Health Foundation, please visit www.elevancehealth.foundation and its blog at www.medium.com/elevancehealthfoundation.
