Who We Are
The MGH Revere Food Pantry and Teaching Kitchen is part of Massachusetts General Hospital. The MGH Revere Food Pantry is located in the MGH Revere HealthCare Center in Revere, Massachusetts, which serves the local community. Revere is a city north of Boston with a diverse patient population and high rates of food insecurity both pre- and post-Covid. The Food Pantry was founded in 2019 and partnered with the Greater Boston Food Bank in 2020. The Greater Boston Food Bank continues to provide the vast majority of food to the Food Pantry. Food is also received from Boston Area Gleaners, which is a local non-profit that recovers food from local farms. Importantly, all of the food served at the MGH Revere Food Pantry is plant-based.
How We Think of Food is Medicine
Food is Medicine is the practice of utilizing food-based interventions to prevent and treat chronic disease.
How We Put Food is Medicine Into Action
The main Food is Medicine program is the provision of plant-based foods to 150 families from the MGH Revere HealthCare Center. All of the food provided to families is plant-based because national guidelines and recommendations are clear that eating more plant-based foods is critical for preventing and treating chronic disease. Once a family enrolls, they receive food every week indefinitely. In addition to receiving food, all participants are invited to attend free culinary medicine classes in the adjoining teaching kitchen on Thursday mornings.
How We’re Funded and How the Future Looks
Funding is primarily provided from Mass General Brigham’s Community Health and Health Equity office as well as the MGH Revere HealthCare Center. Philanthropic funding also supports operations. Grant funding for research efforts has been provided by the Vitamix Foundation and the Ardmore Institute of Health.
Which Metrics and Outcomes We Track
Through research grant funding, the team has tracked a wide range of outcomes focused on attendance, consumption of plant-based foods, food insecurity, cooking skills, stress levels, and chronic disease health outcomes. We have published findings demonstrating weight improvements in children with overweight or obesity and other evaluation efforts are currently underway.
Lessons Learned
- Patients are willing and interested in trying new foods and enjoying plant-based foods.
- Patients need to have a voice in program development.
- Partnership with formal evaluation and/or researchers is critical to demonstrate impact.