Our purpose is to bridge healthcare and food systems to advance nutrition security and health equity
We are working towards a future where thriving communities are supported by equitable healthcare and just food systems
Our Story
Founded on the belief that healthcare and food systems should work together
The Food as Medicine Collaborative was founded in 2015 by Dr. Rita Nguyen on the belief that healthcare and food systems should work together. Though her patients at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital were diagnosed with chronic conditions that could be treated–even reversed–with healthier diets, Dr. Nguyen couldn’t prescribe them healthy food like she could medication.
Building on the efforts of Black leaders in San Francisco who had been organizing for decades to improve public health, partners came together from healthcare, food nonprofits and local food businesses to collaboratively leverage healthcare resources to address nutrition and health equity. The Hypertension Equity Workgroup, convened by the San Francisco Department of Public Health with the direction of patient leaders, led the design, piloting and scaling of our core Food Pharmacy program.
Integrating food interventions into healthcare and advocating for policy change
We take a systems change approach to advancing nutrition security by integrating food interventions into day-to-day healthcare, while centering equity and connection. A core aspect of our work is advocating for healthcare policy change, such as health insurance covering food as a medical benefit. As co-founders and leaders of a collaborative statewide effort, we successfully advocated for California’s Medicaid program to include coverage for medically supportive food and nutrition (MSF&N) services. Since 2022, as part of the CalAIM waiver, health insurers across California have paid for food just as they pay for medications. We continue to work with partners to ensure robust CalAIM implementation.
The Food as Medicine Collaborative is a fiscally sponsored project of the nonprofit San Francisco Public Health Foundation.
Food for Health Collective San Francisco
The Food as Medicine Collaborative provides coordination and support for the Food for Health Collective San Francisco – a partnership of public and nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing nutrition security and health equity. With funding from the Hellman Foundation, the Collective operationalizes and scales medically-supportive food and nutrition interventions through local implementation and statewide policy advocacy. This five-year initiative began in July 2023 and will conclude June 2028. In addition to the Food as Medicine Collaborative, members of the FFHC SF include: Fullwell, Project Open Hand, San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, UCSF Food Equity and Justice Program, and Vouchers4Veggies.
Values-driven work
Our work is guided by the following principles:
Equity
Our current systems are designed to advantage certain groups while limiting opportunity for others. We believe in systems and policies which provide opportunities for everyone to be healthy, live with dignity, and achieve their full potential.
Healing
We believe that improved health empowers individuals and communities. Addressing food insecurity as a key social determinant of health requires challenging and dismantling underlying injustices in our food and healthcare systems in order to give power and agency to historically disadvantaged communities.
Partnership
Systems change requires deep, interwoven, and effective collaborations. We believe that there is tremendous opportunity for alignment between healthcare and food systems to leverage resources and co-create strategies that build resilience and capacity within both sectors to improve patient and community health.
Humility
We believe that addressing health disparities requires deep listening to those directly affected by food insecurity and chronic disease. Our programs and policies must be responsive to the needs of patients and community stakeholders, and they should have a seat at the table in decision making.
Watch this video that shows our work in action:
Our Founder
Rita Nguyen, MD, Founder
Rita's work is driven by the desire to unite the humanitarian promise of medicine with the pursuit of social justice. She serves as the Assistant Health Officer for the California Department of Public Health, where she assists the State Health Officer in addressing pressing and emerging public health threats. Previously she was acting Deputy Director of the Population Health Division at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and led SFDPH’s COVID-19 response.
Our Team
Erin Franey, MPH
Director
Erin leads the development and execution of FAMC’s overall strategy and works closely with health system leaders to align our initiatives with systems-wide efforts to eliminate racial health inequities. She co-leads a statewide coalition that successfully advocated to include medically supportive food and nutrition (MSF&N) services in the most recent California Medicaid waiver and is working to transition these services to permanent covered benefits.
Janna Cordeiro, MPH
Associate Director Food Systems & Impact
Janna leads FAMC’s food systems partnerships, and strengthens FAMC’s communications, development, and evaluation capacities. She draws on experience from over thirty years in public health; most recently, she created an emergency food program that connected over 36 community groups with wholesale food producers during the COVID-19 crisis.
Mia Schwartz, MPH
Associate Director of Health Care Systems and Policy
Mia advances longstanding efforts to embed and sustain food supports in healthcare systems and works to grow MSF&N programming throughout San Francisco health systems to influence statewide MediCal policy. Her role at FAMC builds on experience and relationships developed in her six years working for the San Francisco Health Plan.
Zoë Womack, MPH, RD
Food Pharmacy Program Manager
Zoë oversees the implementation and integration of Food Pharmacies within the San Francisco Health Network. She manages the day-to-day logistics of our partnerships with clinical teams to ensure high-quality, trauma-informed programming that connects participants and their healthcare teams. Additionally, Zoë supports system change efforts including FAMC and Fullwell’s state legislation efforts by co-facilitating a statewide learning network, the California Medically Supportive Food & Nutrition Knowledge Network.
Stephanie Butler, MPH
Food Pharmacy Program Manager
Stephanie cultivates strong relationships with community partners and clinical teams to ensure effective implementation of FAMC-supported food interventions. She oversees event planning, and trains interns and volunteers across San Francisco. Stephanie is committed to improving community health through food as medicine.
Sian Hong, BS
Food Pharmacy Program Coordinator
Sian assists Food Pharmacies in partnership with clinic leadership and FAMC partners and staff, supporting overall planning and logistics, day-of coordination, and subsequent reporting and data entry. She served previously as a Food Access Coordinator for the National Health Corps.
Our collaborative partners
Healthcare
Nonprofit Organizations
Food Businesses
Academic
Funders & Supporters
Fiscal Sponsor