Employer Food Is Medicine Learning and Action Network
Employer Food Is Medicine Learning and Action Network
The American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food™ initiative helps employers design, implement and scale FIM strategies that improve workforce health and address rising healthcare costs. Through an Employer Learning and Action Network paired with 1:1 expert guidance, employers gain the tools, evidence and real-world insights needed to launch or enhance impactful, cost-effective FIM programs — contributing to a healthier, more resilient workforce.
Chronic disease drives the majority of U.S. healthcare spending and diet is a leading risk factor. Employers are uniquely positioned to help change this trajectory. By integrating medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, and produce prescriptions into benefit design, employers can support healthier employees while contributing to a more sustainable healthcare system.
What Health Care by Food Offers Employers
Strategic & Technical Assistance:
- Employer-specific FIM strategy development aligned to workforce needs.
- Support for FIM benefit-aligned program design and implementation
Guidance Informed by up-to-date consensus science and real-world evidence:
- Grounded in science.
- Focused on chronic disease management and secondary prevention.
- Practical metrics for health outcomes, utilization, employee experience, and cost-effectiveness.
- Support in demonstrating value to organizational leadership.
Our Experts
Kevin Volpp
Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD is the Scientific Lead of the Health Care by Food initiative. He is the Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School and the Director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Section 1115 Waiver Demonstration evaluation team and previously co-led a similar team for Kentucky.
Hilary Seligman
Hilary K. Seligman, M.D., M.A.S., serves as Deputy Scientific Lead for the Health Care by Food Initiative and Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics of Medicine University of California, San Francisco. She has directed the CDC’s Nutrition and Obesity Policy, Research and Evaluation Network (NOPREN) since 2014.
Voice of the Employee
Nutrition is clearly a top employee priority — and pain point — according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Voice of the Employee survey. At the same time, rising healthcare costs are stretching household budgets, making it harder for employees to afford everyday essentials, including healthy food.
Despite this need, employers face a clear gap: current offerings stop short of delivering reimbursable, benefit-level nutrition interventions that address both health and affordability. The opportunity is to move beyond traditional wellness programs toward solutions that combine personalized nutrition care and deliver meaningful, measurable impact on employee health.
Ready to champion this work and explore how FIM can support your workforce?
Explore the Employer Learning and Action Network.