MOWRI is a Food Is Medicine-focused organization working to help Rhode Islanders statewide achieve equitable access to fully healthy lives.

Operating under our 2030 Strategic Plan, “Building Resilience, Deepening Impact,” we are celebrating our key accomplishments in the FIM space and working to advance comprehensive participant-centered services that promote health equity and drive improved health outcomes.

What is FIM

Meals on Wheels America defines “Food is Medicine” as a comprehensive approach that integrates nutrition and healthcare to improve health outcomes and address chronic diseases. This approach involves providing medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, and nutrition counseling, often in partnership with healthcare providers and community organizations. It recognizes that access to nutritious food is a crucial component of health and well-being, particularly for individuals with chronic conditions.

FIM approaches have been shown to result in more equitable health outcomes, along with saving health insurance companies thousands of dollars per patient.*

MOWRI FIM Impact

Medically Tailored Meals (MTM)

Prepared meals provided to an individual using evidence-based, therapeutic guidelines to meet assessed nutrition needs

MOWRI home-delivered clients can receive cardiac-friendly, ground, chopped or pureed meals. We increased MTM service by 46% from 2024-2025. In spring 2026, we will begin to offer diabetic-friendly and renal-friendly meals. Through designated partnerships and healthcare programs, eligible clients can receive cardiac/diabetic-friendly meals or renal-friendly meals. All meals, including general wellness meals, can be ground, chopped, or pureed, to meet the needs of clients.

Therapeutic Groceries

Food packages tailored to meet an individual’s health needs

In 2025, we delivered grocery bags tailored to individual needs for 252 households through strategic healthcare partnerships. Our No-Cost Market food pantry serves an average of 60 clients weekly—with an average household size of 3 people—and is open to all Rhode Islanders.

Nutrition Education & Counseling

Tailored counseling to help individuals manage diet through healthy and culturally appropriate foods

With funding from The Rhode Island Foundation, we are developing a business model to integrate nutrition counseling into our existing programs and services.

Maternal Health Equity

Serving perinatal and postpartum maternal health patients

Starting in the Fall of 2021, MOWRI’s home-delivery program expanded to include perinatal and postpartum maternal health patients and their families. Through various partnerships across the state of RI, MOWRI has served over 80,000 Maternal health meals and supplemental groceries. The meals and groceries serve as a preventative health intervention, helping pregnant individuals and new moms manage chronic health conditions and have been shown to decrease hospital readmissions following childbirth and lower healthcare costs.

Meals+

Five-year enhanced home-delivered program in partnership with UConn

Our partnership with UConn is a 5-year, enhanced Home-Delivered Meals Program aimed to improve nutrition and reduce loneliness for older adults. Throughout this program, we aim to administer the intervention to 1,650 clients at high nutritional risk by delivering healthy meals, therapeutic groceries and incorporating community health worker services to improve their diet, food insecurity, and well-being.

Annual Advocacy Breakfast

Convening partners and supporters in advancing FIM interventions across RI

Bringing together local elected officials, stakeholders, and advocates to advance FIM initiatives across the state. The next Advocacy Breakfast will be held on Friday, March 27, 2026.

Coming in 2026 & Beyond

Strengthening our capacity to innovate and respond to opportunities in the Food Is Medicine space.

In fall 2025, MOWRI’s Board of Directors adopted “Building Resilience, Deepening Impact,” our 2030 strategic plan with four core pillars that will guide our organization to sustainable long-term growth and increased impact. Our FIM work is guided by the plan’s Goal 1—"Position MOWRI to deliver comprehensive participant-centered services that promote health equity and drive improved health conditions” Our Strategy is to strengthen our capacity to innovate and respond to opportunities in the Food Is Medicine space. Potential implementations include: 1) Develop and scale medically and culturally tailored meal models in partnership with healthcare providers 2) Develop replicable models and outcome documentation to position MOWRI as a demonstration site for food-as-medicine and aging-in-place strategies 3) Explore providing nutritional counseling as a supplemental service for meal recipients.

*For example, one study conducted found that providing medically tailored meals to individuals could save on average $2,500 per person in the state of Rhode Island, with a national annual net savings of $151B.

Food Is Medicine

What is FIM

MOWRI FIM Impact

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