Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, Inc. a leading managed care organization in Michigan, and the Centene Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation, have jointly announced a $1 million grant for the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM), a cooperative network of the state’s regional food banks dedicated to alleviating hunger and food insecurity.
According to certain reports, the grant will go towards supporting efforts in Prosperity Region 8, which includes Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties. More on that would reveal how the promised brand of support involves upgrading current food pantries, equipping community members with food as medicine interventions, and providing technological support to future In Lieu of Services (ILOS) implementation.
On top of that, this two-phased program will fund a fresh food pharmacy program at a federally qualified health center to support patients with diet-sensitive chronic conditions, while simultaneously offering health coaching support.
Markedly enough, all participants must adopt practices like client-choice shopping, fresh and frozen food availability, set hours, and a wide variety of healthy options.
If they do so, they may also receive the ILOS Certified designation, which makes it possible for them to serve enrollees of Michigan’s Medicaid Health Plans (MHPs), participating in the Comprehensive Health Care Program (CHCP), with Nourish MI Pantry Packs, a curated food pack designed to dish out substantial nutritional benefits.
“Research shows that hunger, health and well-being are deeply connected,” said Patty Graham, Meridian Plan President and CEO. “People who are food insecure are affected by diet-sensitive chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. This partnership will increase food access, remove transportation barriers and create a holistic pathway to address the root causes of health problems and health disparities in rural Michigan.”
Talk about the given two-phased program on a slightly deeper, Phase One will effectively designate and upgrade two existing food pantries to serve as Nourish MI Pantries, which happens to be a model developed by the Food Bank Council of Michigan in collaboration with regional food banks, funders, and healthcare partners.
The stated model is going to support and enhance community pantries across the state, as well as offer a shared standard capable of expanding access to fresh, nutritious foods, enhance client experience, and support partnerships in health and equity.
Furthermore, the Phase One pantries will be duly prepared to deliver food as medicine interventions, supported by local food bank development teams. The idea here is to implement a long-term plan for sustaining access of fresh food.
The available support could very well include the purchase of food, cold storage (such as refrigerators or freezers), shelving and other storage supplies.
Beyond that, the participating food banks will also provide technical assistance as needed to help the pantries effectively support ILOS patients, thus strengthening local food access and building capacity focused on facilitating ILOS operations for all participating Medicaid health plans.
Turning our attention towards Phase Two, set to begin in 2026, it will basically expand the program by designating and upgrading five more Nourish MI Pantries across the same region.
This particular stage will also fund the Fresh Food Pharmacy (FFP) program at Grace Health to help eligible members, suffering from diet-sensitive chronic conditions, access nutritious food and health education. Beyond that, the stated cash infusion will even support efforts to build a long-term sustainability strategy for the program.
Eligible patients of Grace Health with chronic conditions can also shop at the on-site pantry and participate in health coaching support.
To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into account one Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study, which claims that more than 1.4 million people are food insecure in Michigan.
“At the Food Bank Council of Michigan, our mission is to create a food-secure state through advocacy, collaboration and innovative solutions,” said Dr. Phil Knight, Food Bank Council of Michigan Executive Director. “This partnership with Meridian and the Centene Foundation exemplifies that commitment by bringing lasting, fresh food access to rural communities in a way that’s both sustainable and designed to improve health outcomes. Together, we’re not only addressing hunger today, but laying groundwork to solve it for tomorrow.”
