Medically Tailored Groceries Improve Blood Sugar Control, Nutrition in T2D

Medically tailored grocery deliveries may aid adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Medicaid insurance in managing their blood sugar, according to recent research from Kaiser Permanente.¹

Although Food is Medicine programs are widely considered a promising approach for addressing food insecurity and chronic conditions associated with nutrition, few studies have effectively examined their direct impact on patients, particularly those with public health insurance. To this end, Kaiser Permanente conducted the present study to determine whether these interventions have calculable impacts on patient health and nutrition.¹

“This trial shows that food-based support can help patients with low incomes lower their blood sugar levels above and beyond the health care they receive,” Claudia Nau, PhD, a researcher with Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “Our findings suggest that addressing access to healthy food can play a meaningful role in diabetes care for patients, particularly those facing economic and social barriers.”¹

Nau and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial within Kaiser Permanente Southern California, examining whether medically tailored grocery deliveries improved blood sugar control among adults with T2D. Patients were eligible if they had been diagnosed with T2D for ≥24 months, had ≥2 HbA1cs of ≥7.5% in 12 months before recruitment, and had Medicaid insurance at the last HbA1c test.^1,2

Patients were randomly assigned to receive either usual care or 1 of 2 monthly amounts of medically tailored groceries paired with support. These 2 groups included weekly home deliveries of healthy foods scaled to household size and access to phone-based nutrition counseling. Patients in all 3 arms were assigned to complete 3 questionnaires during the trial – in the 2 intervention arms, patients’ HbA1cs were collected at the end of the trial.²

The study’s primary outcome was change in HbA1c from baseline to 6 months. Secondary endpoints included the difference in patient-reported food security between the intervention groups and the control group, the difference in patient-reported food-related self-management between the 3 groups, and the difference in patient-reported diet quality between the 3 groups, among others.²

A total of 460 Medicaid-insured patients were enrolled in the trial, all of whom had persistently elevated blood sugar levels and were receiving care at 1 of 12 medical office buildings across Southern California. Patients were recruited between November 2021 and July 2022 and were followed for a total of 6 months. Investigators contrasted changes in blood sugar and food-related outcomes using both electronic health records and participant surveys.¹

Ultimately, patients who received medically tailored groceries saw greater improvements in blood sugar than those assigned to usual care – this was reflected in an additional 0.4 point reduction in HbA1c over 6 months. Patients receiving groceries also saw an almost 215% increase in the odds of food security and a 365% increase in the odds of nutrition security. Additionally, blood sugar improvements were consistent whether patients received the higher or lower level of medically-tailored groceries.¹

“These trial results further demonstrate that healthy food can be a powerful tool in treatment and management of chronic disease,” Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School at Tufts University, said in a statement. “Incorporating Food is Medicine programs, like medically tailored groceries, into Medicaid benefits recognizes nutrition as a fundamental component of health and can lead to better patient outcomes.”¹

References

1. Kaiser Permanente. Home-delivered, medically tailored groceries improve diabetes control. Eurekalert! July 21, 2026. Accessed July 31, 2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1136616

2. Kaiser Permanente. Food as Medicine Study. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05407376. Updated March 24, 2025. Accessed July 31, 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05407376