Home-delivered groceries
A standardized weekly FoodBox of nutritious foods delivered to participants' homes.
National comparative-effectiveness research
Food Is Medicine Research Initiative
Building decision-ready evidence about which Food Is Medicine benefits Medicaid should buy.
2,500Medi-Cal adults
3randomized arms
36 weeksof benefits
12 monthsof claims follow-up
The purchasing question
Which Food Is Medicine benefits should Medicaid buy?
Among Medi-Cal adults with diet-related chronic conditions, how do equal-value home-delivered groceries and healthy-food vouchers, compared with each other and usual care, affect diet, health, healthcare use, and Medicaid spending?
States establish broad requirements, but managed care plans still make consequential choices about benefit type, eligibility, value, and duration with limited comparative evidence.
Healthy-food voucher
An equal-value benefit restricted to eligible healthy foods, usable in store or online.
Usual care
The policy-relevant comparison needed to estimate each model's incremental effects.
Proposed study
A pragmatic trial designed for Medicaid decisions
Population-based recruitment, prespecified outcomes, and large-scale field operations connect scientific rigor to real purchasing choices.
Population
2,500 Orange County Medi-Cal adults, aged 21 and older, with at least one diet-related cardiometabolic condition.
Sampling
Potentially eligible adults sampled from Medi-Cal administrative records rather than recruited only through clinical referral.
Primary outcome
HEI-2020 diet quality at 36 weeks, with systolic blood pressure as the principal clinical outcome.
Additional outcomes
HbA1c, non-HDL cholesterol, weight, food security, patient-reported health, healthcare use, and Medicaid spending.
Field operations
The trial is being developed with University of Michigan Survey Research Operations, the data-collection unit of the Survey Research Center, to support representative recruitment, standardized measurement, and participant retention.
Current status
NIH R01
Full-scale three-arm trial submitted in October 2026, including in-home clinical assessments and blood collection.
PCORI Broad Pragmatic Studies
Invited to submit a full application by January 12, 2027. View the funding announcement.
Collaboration
One study, built across the capabilities it requires
The collaboration integrates trial science, field execution, nutrition, economics, government data, delivery operations, and patient and stakeholder input.
Scientific and policy designUC Irvine
Field operations and survey researchUniversity of Michigan Survey Research Operations
Population frame and claimsCalifornia Department of Health Care Services
Food-benefit deliveryLocal and national food-system partners
Patient, payer, and policy relevanceAdvisory partners across healthcare and
community settings
Study leadership: Oliko Vardishvili, PhD, University of California, Irvine, and Stephanie Chardoul, University of Michigan Survey Research Operations.
Visit Oliko Vardishvili's academic websiteStudy leadership
Scientific direction and large-scale trial execution.
Oliko Vardishvili, PhD
Principal Investigator · Economics and policy design
University of California, Irvine
Stephanie Chardoul
Dual-Principal Investigator · Trial operations and data integrity
University of Michigan Survey Research Operations
Research and engagement team
Trial design, measurement, nutrition, field execution, and patient and stakeholder engagement.
Matthew Landry, PhD, RDN, FAND
Population health, nutrition, and implementation
University of California, Irvine
Scientific advisors
Food Is Medicine, clinical nutrition, health equity, and quantitative population health.
Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH
Clinical nutrition and health equity
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Research and advisory network
A broader ecosystem around the trial
The initiative's research, advisory, operational, payer, community, and policy network spans more than 30 organizations.
Research institutions
- University of California, Irvine
- UCI Health
- UCI Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health
- University of Michigan Survey Research Operations
- University of Bath
- Nazarbayev University
- Northwestern University
- University of Pittsburgh
- Tufts Food Is Medicine Institute
- UNC School of Medicine
- UMass Chan Medical School
Payers and health plans
Policy, legal, and implementation
Community and industry
Government and data infrastructure
Partnership
Help produce the evidence policy cannot yet purchase.
We welcome conversations with foundations, health plans, health systems, and food-sector partners interested in supporting the participant food benefits or strengthening implementation at scale.
Contact the initiative