Access to nutritious food can play a critical role in managing chronic illness, especially for people living with kidney disease. Thanks to an investment from the DaVita Giving Foundation over the last year, members of the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) have been able to expand access to medically tailored meals (MTMs) for individuals facing both serious health conditions and food insecurity.
Building on our previous partnership with the foundation, the grant has supported the delivery of more than 23,000 MTMs for people living with chronic and end-stage kidney disease. It has also supported the provision of nutrition education to increase awareness of healthy eating habits and provide person-centered nutrition counseling. The funding has enabled three FIMC member organizations to strengthen and expand their services in communities across the country:
These organizations provide MTMs developed by registered dietitian nutritionists to meet the specific nutritional needs of patients managing chronic conditions. For individuals with kidney disease, proper nutrition can help manage symptoms, prevent complications, and support overall health.
The partnership reflects a growing recognition that nutrition is a critical component of healthcare, particularly for patients facing barriers such as food insecurity, limited transportation, or fixed incomes.
Delivering Meaningful Impact in Communities
Across the three participating communities, the DaVita Giving Foundation’s support has helped the nonprofit providers expand their ability to reach 120 individuals living with kidney disease with MTMs and nutrition education.
Project Angel Food – Los Angeles
Project Angel Food nourishes the health and spirit of vulnerable people facing critical and life-threatening illness, by preparing and delivering MTMs with love, care and dignity. Project Angel Food served 65 clients overall through the program and reported encouraging improvement among participants who completed baseline and six-month surveys. Among respondents, 60% reported fewer days of poor mental health, and 91% said the program reduced their stress around planning healthy meals.
“Project Angel Food has been proud to partner with DaVita in our shared mission to improve the health of vulnerable communities across Los Angeles,” said Richard Ayoub, CEO. “In 2025, we joined three community health events co-hosted by DaVita and several local non-profits — deepening our relationship with the DaVita team who connect critically ill patients with our medically tailored meals and nutrition services. These partnerships are how we reach the people who need us most.”
Open Arms of Minnesota – Minneapolis
Open Arms of Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers MTMs at no cost to critically ill Minnesotans and their loved ones. Registered dietitians and in-house chefs create delicious, medically tailored menus using fresh and organic ingredients whenever possible. Through the support of a loving community of donors and volunteers, Open Arms harvests, cooks, and delivers nutritious, made-from-scratch meals directly to clients.
Open Arms saw strong results from the MTM intervention program. Among those who completed check-ins, 100% of those who were previously food insecure became food secure through the program and 100% of participants reported improvements in quality of life.
“Open Arms was pleased to see overwhelmingly positive feedback from pilot participants, reflected in both collected impact data and the narrative responses shared during midpoint and end-of-service calls,” said Open Arms Director of Programs, Anna Irmiter. “This funding allowed us to develop programming with a truly meaningful impact on the community.”
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida – Orlando
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida works to create hope and nourish lives through a powerful hunger relief network, serving Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties. As a nonprofit organization, Second Harvest distributes enough food for approximately 300,000 meals each day, helping ensure neighbors across Central Florida have access to the food they need. Second Harvest is a graduate of the FIMC Accelerator, an intensive curriculum training program that teaches nonprofits how to prepare and deliver a high-quality MTM intervention to their communities. This catalytic funding from the DaVita Giving Foundation enabled Second Harvest Food Bank to expand services to this new, highly acute population. The results have been transformative. The program supported systems of care by feeding the families of individuals living with this life-altering illness.
“Second Harvest Food Bank has seen significant positive impacts on our clients, and we are grateful for the funding, which has enabled us to jumpstart and continue a critical program for a growing population,” said Dawn Koffarnus, Chief Health Systems and Financial Officer. “We have done all this while implementing programming that produces strong outcomes and meaningful impact for clients and their families.”
In alignment with program goals to advance best practices, Food Is Medicine Coalition hosted a technical assistance session for our national provider network in partnership with the DaVita Giving Foundation and local teammates (employees) from DaVita dialysis centers that focused on best practices in referral relationships between MTM organizations and kidney care centers. This session highlighted implementation strategies, referral coordination, and lessons learned to support scalability and improved care for individuals with chronic kidney disease nationwide.
“At DaVita, we’re committed to whole-person care, supporting patients’ overall health and well being as they navigate their kidney health,” said Liz Gardner, executive director for the DaVita Giving Foundation. “We are grateful to work alongside the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) team and the dedicated member organizations—Project Angel Food, Open Arms of Minnesota, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The medically tailored meals and essential nutrition services these organizations provide help nourish our communities and improve the health of those we serve.”
Food Is Medicine in Action
For individuals living with chronic disease, access to the right food at the right time can mean the difference between stability and worsening health.
MTMs are designed by RDNs to support patients managing conditions such as kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Research has shown that these interventions can help improve health outcomes, reduce hospitalizations, and lower healthcare costs while improving quality of life.
The DaVita Giving Foundation’s investment underscores the growing momentum behind the food is medicine movement, which seeks to integrate nutrition into healthcare systems and ensure patients receive the support they need beyond the clinic.