{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T13:50:27Z","timestamp":1770817827643,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770768000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Bill Gatton Foundation Endowed Chair in Nutrition Science"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Food is Medicine (FIM) programs improve health outcomes by integrating nutrition interventions into healthcare delivery, yet gaps remain in community partner capacity and local food system integration. This program aimed to build community capacity to develop a locally sourced, medically tailored meal (MTM) model connecting farmers, healthcare providers, and patients. Methods: Meals were developed by a registered dietitian following American Heart Association (AHA) Heart-Check and MyPlate nutrition standards. Recipes were adapted for freezing, scaled for production, and sourced from 26 central Kentucky farms. Eligible participants with hypertension or type 2 diabetes (T2D) were referred through the Food as Health Program at the UK healthcare screening hub and received 10 meals weekly for 12 weeks. Results: Twenty-five participants enrolled (76% female, mean age 52). Of the 25 that participated, n = 12 had complete pre- and post-clinical measures. There was a significant mean decrease in systolic blood pressure from 137.5 to 128.1 mmHg (\u22129.4 mmHg). There was no significant change in diastolic blood pressure, which went from 79.8 to 70.2 mmHg (\u22129.2 mmHg), and BMI, which went from 37.59 to 37.93 kg\/m2 (0.33 BMI). Over 80% of ingredients were locally sourced, generating $10,686 in farm sales. Participant satisfaction and engagement were high. Conclusions: A community-based FIM model using locally sourced, medically tailored meals improved health outcomes and generated measurable economic benefits for local farmers. Strengthening community capacity and integrating such programs into healthcare payment systems are critical next steps for scale and sustainability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18040589","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T11:13:15Z","timestamp":1770808395000},"page":"589","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Developing a Community-Driven, Locally Sourced Medically Tailored Meal Model: A Pilot Linking Healthcare, Farmers, and Patients"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3660-5573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julie","family":"Brown","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashton","family":"Potter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-1646-0105","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leandra","family":"Forman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"FoodChain, 501 W. 6th Street, Lexington, KY 40508, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jairus","family":"Rossi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-9100-3029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Cason","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Christa","family":"Mayfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1704-8695","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alison","family":"Gustafson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1417","DOI":"10.1161\/CIR.0000000000001182","article-title":"Food Is Medicine: A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association","volume":"148","author":"Volpp","year":"2023","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1169","DOI":"10.2337\/dc22-1645","article-title":"Evaluation of a Produce Prescription Program for Patients with Diabetes: A Longitudinal Analysis of Glycemic Control","volume":"46","author":"Hager","year":"2023","journal-title":"Diabetes Care"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1007\/s44250-025-00329-0","article-title":"A Michigan systematic review of produce-prescription programs implementation and associated effects on health and food security","volume":"4","author":"Musa","year":"2025","journal-title":"Discov. Health Syst."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"e009520","article-title":"Impact of Produce Prescriptions on Diet, Food Security, and Cardiometabolic Health Outcomes: A Multisite Evaluation of 9 Produce Prescription Programs in the United States","volume":"16","author":"Hager","year":"2023","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1001\/jamainternmed.2023.6670","article-title":"Effect of an Intensive Food-as-Medicine Program on Health and Health Care Use","volume":"184","author":"Doyle","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100303","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajpc.2021.100303","article-title":"Food insecurity and cardiovascular disease: Current trends and future directions","volume":"9","author":"Chang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Am. J. Prev. Cardiol."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) of Harvard Law School (2026, January 10). Maximizing the Impact of Nutrition Interventions with Local Food Procurement. Available online: https:\/\/chlpi.org\/news-and-events\/news-and-commentary\/press-release\/maximizing-the-impact-of-nutrition-interventions-with-local-food-procurement."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"American Heart Association (2025, October 07). Heart-Check Recipe Certification Program Nutrition Requirements. Available online: https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/company-collaboration\/heart-check-certification\/heart-check-certified-recipes\/heart-check-recipe-certification-program-nutrition-requirements#."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Agriculture (2025, October 08). MyPlate, Available online: https:\/\/www.myplate.gov\/eat-healthy\/what-is-myplate."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Agriculture (2020). 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