Project Angel Food announced significant health outcomes from a grant funded by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, with 83% of enrolled clients seeing their HbA1c levels drop compared to their initial lab result.

The results underscore the power of medically tailored meals as a food-as-medicine intervention for people living with serious illness and diabetes in Los Angeles County. In addition to improved blood sugar control, 60% of clients experienced a reduction in emergency room visits while receiving services — demonstrating the program’s potential to improve health while helping clients avoid costly, preventable acute care.

“Medically tailored meals work,” said Richard Ayoub, CEO of Project Angel Food. “This partnership with the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation illustrates just how important our work is in transforming the health and lives of people living with serious illness in Los Angeles. For those living at the intersection of health, food insecurity, and financial insecurity, this grant has provided real hope, dignity, and measurable health improvement. We are deeply grateful to the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation for its commitment to improving the health of the socially vulnerable.”

“We are encouraged by the strong outcomes achieved through our collaboration with Project Angel Food, demonstrating how improving access to nutritious food can help people better manage chronic illness while reducing emergency room visits and supporting overall health and stability, said Dr. David Pryor, Chief Medical Officer, Anthem Blue Cross in California.”

The two-year program was coordinated through the Food is Medicine Coalition, a national coalition of nonprofit organizations — including Project Angel Food, a founding member — that provide medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, medical nutrition therapy, nutrition counseling, and nutrition education to people living with severe and chronic illnesses across the country.

Beginning in July 2024, the grant from the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation enabled Project Angel Food to provide more than 19,000 medically tailored meals, along with nutrition support, to clients managing severe diabetes. Through the grant-funded initiative, 143 clients received at least one medically tailored meal per day. The meals were designed with high-quality ingredients, carefully controlled portions, and targeted nutrient limitations intended to stabilize glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

For clients like Eleanor Jones, an 81-year-old great-grandmother, calligrapher, singer, songwriter, and former high school athlete, the program provided both nourishment and relief. “My diabetes is under control, and having those meals made it easier,” Eleanor said. “I didn’t have to plan so much myself. It was all planned for me.” She added that she felt relief knowing meals were on the way and that she did not have to worry about preparing food while also caring for her husband.

The results reflect Project Angel Food’s broader mission to deliver medically tailored meals and nutritional support to people facing serious illness, helping clients remain nourished, supported, and better able to manage complex health conditions from home.

About Project Angel Food

Founded in 1989, Project Angel Food nourishes the health and spirit of vulnerable people facing critical and life-threatening illness by preparing and delivering medically tailored meals with love, care, and dignity to more than 7,100 Angelenos each year. Since its founding, the organization has delivered more than 20 million meals across Los Angeles County and now provides more than 1.5 million medically tailored meals annually, along with nutrition counseling and compassionate client support. Project Angel Food is accredited by the Food is Medicine Coalition, is a Four-Star Charity Navigator organization, and has twice been named California’s Nonprofit of the Year. To learn more about Project Angel Food, please visit www.angelfood.org.

About Anthem Blue Cross Foundation

The Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association, is a philanthropic arm of the Elevance Health Foundation. The Foundation works to improve the health of the socially vulnerable through partnerships and programs in our communities, with an emphasis on maternal-infant health, behavioral health, and food as medicine. Additionally, the Foundation responds to disasters when our communities need us most. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and the Elevance Health Foundation, please visit www.elevancehealth.foundation and its blog at www.medium.com/elevancehealthfoundation.