Get Healthy!

• Posted April 15, 2026

'Food-as-Medicine' Improves Life for Heart Failure Patients

For the 6 million Americans recovering from heart failure, the most difficult time for their health often starts the moment they leave the hospital.

Patients often struggle with complex medications and a lack of access to nutritious food once back at home. 

However, a new study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, suggests that prescribing groceries might be key to a better recovery.

The findings were published April 8 in JAMA Cardiology.

The clinical trial, known as FOOD-HF, tested whether providing free, heart-healthy food directly to patients for 90 days post-discharge could improve their health. 

Researchers tracked 150 patients discharged between April 2024 and October 2025 at two Dallas hospitals. The group was diverse: 53% of individuals identified as white, 42% as Black and 33% as Latino.

All had been hospitalized for heart failure and enrolled in the study within 14 days of discharge.

Crucially, more than half (53%) were dealing with food insecurity, meaning they lacked consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Participants were split into three groups. Some received medically tailored meals (ready-to-eat dishes designed by dietitians). Others received fresh produce boxes with heart-healthy staples and recipes, while a third group received only standard dietary advice.

Overall, more than 90% of food deliveries were completed, and 96% of patients stuck with the program. 

Interestingly, patients preferred the fresh produce boxes over the pre-made meals. Researchers suspect this is because the boxes allowed families to cook together and honor their own cultural food traditions.

“This was designed as a pilot trial to answer a very practical question: Can we actually deliver food-as-medicine interventions to patients in the vulnerable period after a heart failure hospitalization — and will patients accept them?” said study leader Dr. Ambarish Pandey, an associate professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern. 

“What we showed is that this approach is not only feasible, but patients also really valued it,” Pandey added in a news release.

While the 90-day study did not see a drop in emergency room visits or hospital readmissions in the food delivery groups, it made a marked difference in how patients felt. 

Those receiving food support reported significant improvements in their daily quality of life and overall physical comfort compared to those who received no extra help.

“What stood out was that patients who received food support reported feeling better, with improvements in their health-related quality of life,” Pandey said. “That’s a critical outcome for people living with heart failure.”

So far, the study showed that food-as-medicine programs can work in the real world. 

Researchers hope these findings will lead to larger, long-term studies that might eventually prove that a healthy kitchen can be just as effective as a well-stocked medicine cabinet.

More information

For tips on heart-healthy eating and dietary guidelines, visit the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

SOURCES: UT Southwestern Medical Center, news release, April 8, 2026; JAMA Cardiology, April 8, 2026