Healthy Food Rx Program

Healthy Food Rx is a ‘Food is Medicine’ program developed through Abbott’s Future Well Communities initiative to improve diabetes outcomes in Stockton, California. In partnership with the Public Health Institute’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition (PHI CWN), Community Medical Centers (CMC), Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association (APSARA), and the Emergency Food Bank Stockton/San Joaquin (EFB), the program delivers coordinated clinical and social support for low-income residents with diabetes. 

Over six months, participants received biweekly, home-delivered food boxes containing fresh produce, pantry staples, and culturally relevant recipes, along with access to virtual cooking classes, nutrition and diabetes self-management education, community health worker outreach, social care referrals, and transportation assistance. 

The program has reached 1,700 residents to date. A 12-month evaluation showed lower A1C levels, improved diet quality, greater food security, and better diabetes self-management among participants.

Program Implementation

As the lead implementation and evaluation partner for Abbott’s Healthy Food Rx Program, PHI CWN coordinated efforts among local organizations and ensured successful program delivery. These responsibilities included: 

  • Project Management and Coordination: Oversaw cross-sector collaboration among Abbott’s Future Well Communities partners.  
  • Training and Technical Assistance: Supported local partners with capacity-building efforts to deliver program components effectively. 
  • Data Collection and Evaluation: Conducted outcome tracking across all program models, including health, behavioral, and systems-level metrics. 
  • Dissemination: Shared findings and best practices to inform future health equity and chronic disease initiatives.

Healthy Food Rx reached individuals across seven program models—three clinic-based, three community health worker-led health coaching programs, and one community-based model. This flexible, multi-sector approach demonstrated measurable improvements in food security, diet quality, and diabetes-related health outcomes. 

“This program has greatly benefited our family’s health and well-being. We are truly grateful.” – Program participant

Our Work in the News

PHI CWN team members leading a roundtable on community-led data collection at the 2024 American Evaluation Association conference in Portland, Oregon.

Publications and Presentations

Clinic-Based

Abbott’s Healthy Food Rx Program launched in 2021 at Community Medical Centers, a federally qualified health center in Stockton. Working with a team of Health Educators to conduct screenings and program enrollment, we conducted a 6-month study and a 12-month study. In 2023, we evaluated the program using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design.

Health Coaching Plus Healthy Food Rx

PHI CWN worked with community health workers (CHWs) at the Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association (APSARA) co-create a standardized health coaching intervention that would best meet the needs of the community they served in their preferred language (English, Spanish or Khmer). Lesson plans were created and clients received an action plan journal around topics such as healthy eating, physical activity, and knowing their numbers. CHWs provided one lesson per month for six months in person or via telephone with brief follow-ups twice per month. The health coaching interventions have taken place for three consecutive years: round 1 in 2023, round 2 in 2024, and round 3 in 2025. Pre- and post-program survey data were collected by the CHWs. Findings showed significant improvements for all diabetes-related health outcomes. Full evaluation results are being prepared for publication. 

Health Coaching Material Resources:

Community-Based

Following the success of the 12-month study results, partner organizations wanted a way to refer their clients into Healthy Food Rx. We designed a “community-referral” program model to expand the reach of our program to test scalability and effectiveness outside of the clinic setting. Evaluation results will be shared later in 2025.