DELAWARE – On Tuesday, Gov. Matt Meyer announced the creation of the Delaware Food is Medicine Committee, a new initiative aimed at transforming the state’s healthcare approach by integrating food into medical treatment and prevention strategies.

The committee will work to move Delaware’s health system away from reactive treatment and toward proactive prevention, according to Meyer.

“Every Delawarean should have the comfort of knowing they can feed their family healthy and nutritious meals,” said Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay, who will chair the new committee.

The Food is Medicine Committee will operate under the Delaware Council on Farm & Food Policy and focus on three main areas:

• Health equity: Expanding access to Food is Medicine programs and other nutrition-based care, especially for low-income and high-risk groups. These efforts aim to help manage and prevent chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

• Healthcare cost savings: Cutting down on hospital visits and reducing Medicaid spending by addressing diet-related conditions with targeted nutrition support.

• Economic growth: Supporting Delaware’s agricultural sector by creating new opportunities for local farmers and food businesses, ultimately strengthening the food system and creating jobs.

Committee members will include leaders from healthcare, agriculture, research and community-based organizations. The group will look to successful models in states such as Massachusetts, North Carolina and California, and draw upon research from Tufts University’s Food is Medicine Institute and initiatives led by Kaiser Permanente.

The committee’s efforts will also align with broader national frameworks, including the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food initiative.