Nearly half of Americans live with a diet-related chronic disease, costing the U.S. more than $1.1 trillion annually. At the same time, roughly 28,000 small and mid-sized farms, which make up over 90% of U.S. farms, go out of business each year. Food is Medicine (FIM) programs, including Medically Tailored Meals, Medically Tailored Groceries, and Produce Prescriptions, sit at the intersection of these two crises. 

This new report by The Rockefeller Foundation, developed in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors, finds that scaling FIM to all 43 million eligible Americans would generate up to $50.2 billion in annual demand for healthy food. When states prioritize local providers and locally sourced food, that spending becomes an economic engine: unlocking $45 billion+ in annual GDP growth, supporting 316,000 new jobs, and delivering $5.6 billion in new revenue for small and mid-sized family farms, while sustaining over 6 million acres of farmland. 

The analysis was developed with input from leading institutions including Cornell University, Colorado State University, Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, and the International Fresh Produce Association, alongside practitioners from Community Servings, FreshRx Oklahoma, Recipe4Health, The Common Market, 4P Foods, and NourishedRx. 

With intentional program design, FIM can simultaneously improve health, strengthen rural economies, and build more resilient local food systems. 

Read the report to know more.