Food insecurity has been severely exacerbated by the economic toll and isolation brought by COVID-19, and it places many at risk of poor health outcomes. To help ensure its members are receiving the proper nutrition, L.A. Care Health Plan is proud to announce it has awarded Project Angel Food $150,000 to provide home-delivered, medically-tailored meals to more than 80 homebound members through the end of the year. These members are battling illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, uncontrolled diabetes, pulmonary disease and cancer.
The members have been selected in partnership with L.A. Care’s Social Services Department. Most are older than 60, have limited mobility, and are unable to prepare meals for themselves. Over the next six months, Project Angel Food will provide at least 15,000 meals to these vulnerable individuals.
This new project builds upon past support for Project Angel Food. Last year, L.A. Care awarded $550,000 to Project Angel Food to provide more than 55,000 medically-tailored meals to 151 individuals who had been on a waiting list. In 2017 the health plan supported a three-year statewide pilot project by the Food is Medicine Coalition to test the effectiveness of medically-tailor meals to improve the health outcomes for people with Congestive Heart Failure. The pilot ends at the end of 2021. So far, 136 members have completed the 12 week program, and their hospital readmissions dropped by 30 to 40 percent.
This new project aligns with L.A. Care’s commitment to support Angelenos who live on the economic margins and improve health outcomes for low-income individuals by addressing social factor that impact health.