Food as Medicine in Los Angeles County: Policy and practice insights from a 2025 convening

Food as Medicine initiatives integrate healthy food resources, including medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions, into clinical care to manage and prevent chronic conditions. This field is evolving rapidly, as states shift toward sustainable reimbursement models through health plan benefits or Medicaid waivers. This article presents the proceedings and findings from a regional Food as Medicine convening in Los Angeles County. In 2025, The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health convened 74 multi-sector partners, including health plans, clinical providers, community-based organizations, farms, and local food hubs, to align Food as Medicine initiatives with the region's food system infrastructure. The resulting synthesis of event proceedings and attendee survey data provides a collective framework for scaling Food as Medicine interventions, serving as a potential playbook for advancing local and national policy integration. A local health department, university, managed care plan, and retail-based produce prescription program shared their promising models of Food as Medicine implementation. Case examples from California and those from other states showed how these entities leveraged Medicaid to build organizational capacity, drive local economies, and bolster their food system structure to procure and distribute affordable, healthy foods. During roundtable discussions, attendees agreed that a more centralized food handling system can help streamline and meet food system needs. Likewise, greater investment in data infrastructure can help track and demonstrate health and economic impacts associated with these initiatives. Post-event evaluations showed >90% of attendees were "very" or "extremely interested" in expanding Food as Medicine within their organizations. Two central priorities emerged-a need to further: (i) cultivate strategic partnerships that align with regional food system objectives, and (ii) integrate local and state regenerative and/or organic sourcing preferences into institutional procurement practices. Attendees recommended a centralized regional hub as a promising vehicle for accomplishing these goals.