NIH - Food As Medicine

We are excited to announce that Equiti Foods has been awarded a new Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To complement this project, we have also been awarded a STTR Matching grant from the One North Carolina Small Business Program. Together, these projects are focused on technologies for improving minority health and eliminating health disparities. The award will further our mission of increasing the availability of healthy foods in the communities who need it most.

The STTR Matching grant will help Equiti Foods scale up our efforts to meet the anticipated increase in demand for Food as Medicine programs. Healthcare systems and public health professionals are embracing Food as Medicine efforts, including medically tailored meals as an evidence-based approach to reducing chronic disease risk and health care costs. The approach recognizes the vital role that nutrition and dietary choices play in maintaining and improving overall health.

Equiti Foods will develop new family/child-friendly recipes as well as explore ways to increase our capacity to provide medically tailored meals in NC. New production models will be tested, advisory committees composed of key players in the Food as Medicine space will be formed, and we will expand our capacity to produce and deliver meals. This will not only inform future scale up and revenue generation for our small business but be helpful for other Food as Medicine focused programs.

Equiti Foods is very grateful to receive this award, and with these funds, we will be able to

increase the depth of our work in the coming year.