Overview: A new study titled Food as Medicine 3.0 found that partnerships between food banks and healthcare providers significantly improve patient health. Specifically, Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino’s FoodRx program helped reduce emergency room visits by 37% among surveyed participants. By providing food prescriptions and nutritional education, these initiatives successfully lowered food insecurity and improved dietary habits within the Inland Empire community.
Aryana Noroozi
In a recent study evaluating food bank and health care partnerships, findings revealed how connecting those facing hunger with medical providers can meaningfully improve health outcomes. The study included local data from the Inland Empire to support it.
The report, Food as Medicine 3.0 (FAM3), was funded by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and evaluated by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact. Across the full FAM3 initiative, hospitalizations decreased by 14% and emergency department visits by 11%, while food security increased by nearly seven percentage points. This created a 47% relative increase, according to the report.
Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino (FARSB)’s FoodRx program was one of the case studies included in the evaluation.
The program was created in 2021, serving as a food-prescription-based distribution service. Patients identified as food insecure by their health care provider receive a food box at the clinic, paired with nutrition education materials. FARSB also refers patients to local food pantries and meal programs, provides support with CalFresh applications, and connects qualified patients to homebound relief services. The program is run in partnership with CareMore Health, Loma Linda VA Hospital, Riverside University Health System (RUHS), and Riverside Free Clinic.
Between April 2023 and December 2025, FoodRx provided food to 6,040 patients and referred 10,237 patients to SNAP, according to the report.
Among the 48 participants who completed both baseline and follow-up surveys, FARSB’s program indicated a 9% average improvement in daily fruit and vegetable intake, a seven percentage-point drop in food insecurity, 37% fewer emergency room visits on average, and a 10 percentage-point drop in the share of participants who said they’d delayed or missed medical care due to cost.
“FARSB’s FoodRx program included in this report cements the need for better nutrition in food assistance and showcases that providing proper food for our communities is essential to better overall health,” said Vanesa Rangel-Mercado, FARSB’s interim CEO, in a statement. “Our neighbors deserve the food they need to be healthy, and this showcases the need for this model on a larger scale.”
The demographics revealed that participants of the local program were mostly women (61%) and predominantly Latino (74%), with 44% between ages 35 and 49.
“[FoodRx] helps me a lot right now because my husband is working very little right now, and I have five kids, so it helps me make snacks and give them something to eat,” one FARSB neighbor said, according to the report.
At Riverside Free Clinic, FoodRx partner Kianna Le said the clinic serves about 30 patients per session, offered twice a month, with nutrition counseling, workshops, and referrals to food pantries and FoodRx boxes.
FARSB has served the Inland Empire since 1980, when it was launched as Survive Food Bank. Today, it distributes more than 3.3 million pounds of food monthly through nearly 250 partner organizations across Riverside and San Bernardino counties, reaching more than a million households a year.