INDIANAPOLIS— On Wednesday morning, IU Health, Purdue University for Health Equity & Innovation, the American Heart Association, and Gleaners Food Bank opened the IU Health Nutrition Hub.

The hub is inside IU Health Methodist Hospital and will help patients at IU Health. It’s the first step in a new food-as-medicine program that will address nutrition security as a way to reduce heart disease risk factors for residents in Marion County.

“Our patients that come here to our life care clinic, our pre-surgical clinic,” said Michele Saysana, the chief medical officer of the adult academic health center.

The organizations received a three-year, $1 million grant from IU Health’s Community Impact Investment Fund last December to fund the project.

The program will begin by enrolling eligible IU Health patients before expanding access to additional downtown neighborhoods in the 46202 zip code during the next two years. Participants will be able to pre-order healthy, culturally relevant foods via a new mobile app being developed by Gleaners. They’ll be able to pick up the food at the lockers inside IU Health Methodist Hospital, which will be open 24 hours a day.

According to Gleaners, more than 17% of people in Marion County are at or below the poverty rate, and more than 128,000 people are food insecure.

“I think that’s why it’s so important to get this program going and be able to expand it quickly too,” said Saysana.

According to organizers, this will help cut down on chronic diseases, heart disease risk factors, and health care costs.

“We have a unique program here that allows us color code food too so green is good, yellow is maybe something to avoid frequently, and red is don’t do this. People can start ordering food and start making choices of food that is truly medicine to them so not only will they be able to come to the hospital here but they’ll be able to get their medicine here with the food program,” said Mark Jacob, with the American Heart Association.

Eskenazi Health recently launched the Eskenazi Health Fresh for You Market is a grocery store/food pantry hybrid that helps eliminate barriers in obtaining healthy food.

According to Eskenazi, about 21% of Marion County residents live in a food desert. At each clinical visit, Eskenazi Health patients who screen as food insecure are provided with vouchers for the Fresh for You Market, allowing them to shop the market for food items free of charge.

From July 24, 2023 to September 19, 2023, 789 vouchers were accepted at the market.