Home-delivered, medically tailored groceries benefit people with diabetes facing food insecurity

A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), published by Elsevier, evaluated a 12-week home-delivered food and education program among adults in Northwest Arkansas. Participants received diabetes-appropriate grocery boxes along with diabetes self-management education materials in English, Spanish, or Marshallese. The intervention was designed and implemented by researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation (ICHI) using a community-engaged approach.

After the program, participants' average hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a key marker of blood sugar control, decreased by 0.56 percentage points, a clinically meaningful improvement that lowers the risk of diabetes-related complications. While diet quality did not show significant change, researchers note that providing culturally relevant, in-language educational materials and removing transportation barriers ensured that 97% of participants received the full intended intervention dose.

This study demonstrates the potential for home-delivered, medically tailored groceries to make measurable improvements in diabetes management for people experiencing food insecurity and facing transportation barriers. For many people with type 2 diabetes, reliable access to healthy food is not just a convenience-it's essential healthcare."

Eliza Short, PhD, RDN, Lead Author, Research Scientist, Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Research Collaborator with UAMS ICHI

The findings contribute to the growing field of Food Is Medicine (FIM) interventions, which connect nutrition access directly to chronic disease prevention and management. The authors emphasize that future research should explore which elements of such programs-food delivery, nutrition education, or both-most influence health outcomes. They also encourage tailoring food and education materials to reflect cultural food preferences across diverse communities to improve engagement and impact.