Food FARMacy
Food is Medicine
Founded in 2017, the Hurley Food FARMacy (HFF) is a “food is medicine” nutrition education program that bridges the gap between nutrition behaviors and improved health outcomes. We provide six months of personalized, medically appropriate food and education to patients managing diet-responsive conditions or facing food insecurity.
Our Impact
individuals served in 2024
served since 2017
of food sourced from Michigan growers
of sustained support per patient
Our Goals
We help patients use food to manage their health, build lasting nutrition skills, and remove the barriers that keep healthy eating out of reach.
- Reduce the need for medication and other medical care by improving health outcomes through food education tailored to each patient’s medical diagnosis.
- Sustain six months of services and support so patients have the time they need to change habits and build new skills.
- Increase food security for patients and their households.
- Remove access barriers like disability, limited mobility, and lack of transportation.
- Build confidence and skills so patients can make better food choices on their own, manage diet-responsive diagnoses, and improve the health of their whole household.
- Track health outcomes with diagnostic-specific pre- and post-tests and patient feedback.
Our Services
Every Food FARMacy patient receives care from a Registered Dietitian, food prescribed to their diagnosis, and connections to community resources. Services are individualized to each patient’s medical needs and cultural preferences.
Nutrition Education Classes
Disease-specific classes and 1:1 consultations taught by a Registered Dietitian.
Healthy Food Packs & Meal Kits
A week of medically appropriate food for the patient's household, with a ready-to-cook meal kit.
Community Resources & Referrals
A guide to local services that address the social factors interconnected with health.
Accessibility & Mobility Accommodations
Virtual visits, home delivery, proxy pickups, and translation services when needed.
Nutrition Education Classes
Patients meet with a Registered Dietitian onsite at their first visit and periodically throughout the program. Classes are tailored to the patient’s specific medical diagnosis and cover:
- Using food to manage health conditions (the “food is medicine” approach)
- Reading nutrition labels
- Recommended intake of sodium, fat, fiber, and protein
- Staying within recommended sugar limits
- Specific food choices for the patient’s diagnosis
- Healthy cooking methods and hands-on cooking demonstrations
- Easy-to-read take-home handouts to reinforce lessons
Classes are typically taught in small groups. Individual 1:1 classes and one-on-one consultations with a Registered Dietitian are available when needed.
Healthy Food Packs & Meal Kits
At each visit, patients receive a Healthy Food Pack — a box of nutritious food prescribed to their medical diagnosis. Inside the pack:
- Two meals a day for seven days for the patient and their household
- Client Choice: patients select from a medically appropriate menu that accommodates cultural preferences, personal preferences, and food allergies
- A Meal Kit with ready-to-use ingredients (protein, vegetables, grains, fats, and spices) and easy step-by-step instructions, so patients can practice healthy at-home cooking
- Over 80% of food sourced from Michigan growers when possible
How often patients receive a Healthy Food Pack
Medicaid Referrals
1 Healthy Food Pack per week for 6 months
Hurley Medical Center & Other Provider Referrals
1 Healthy Food Pack per month for 6 months
Participation may be extended when medically necessary.
Community Resources & Referrals
Because issues like transportation and access to healthy food are interconnected with health, every patient receives a comprehensive referral handout at their first visit. The handout connects patients with local resources across:
- Financial — eating well on a budget, free/low-cost childcare, utility and eviction prevention
- Life Stage — birth-to-age-5 support, family support, K-12 and youth development, senior services
- Residential — housing, repairs, shelters
- Health Services — community healthcare, disability services, food pantry distribution, mental health and counseling, substance abuse
- Other Essentials — 24/7 hotlines, community centers, education, employment, legal services, transportation
Accessibility & Mobility Accommodations
When patients are unable to travel to our location or need additional assistance — due to mobility limitations, lack of transportation, or financial constraints — we offer (upon verification):
- Virtual appointments with a Registered Dietitian for 1:1 classes and consultations
- Home delivery of Healthy Food Packs via a contracted food delivery service
- Pre-authorized proxy pickups — a trusted contact can pick up the patient’s Healthy Food Pack on their behalf
- Translators for classes and consultations — both sign language and spoken-language translators available by appointment
- Facilities compliant with Hurley Medical Center standard operating procedures, which meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards
Who We Serve
Hurley Food FARMacy serves patients of all ages — from infants to seniors — who are either facing food insecurity or managing a nutrition-responsive medical condition.
Food Insecurity
Patients diagnosed with poor nutrition due to lack of access to healthy, medically appropriate, or safe foods.
Nutrition-Responsive Conditions
Patients diagnosed with any of the following conditions qualify:
- Cancer (including cancer with malnutrition)
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Diabetes (including pre-diabetes)
- Heart Disease (including congestive heart failure / CHF)
- High Cholesterol
- Hypertension
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Kidney or Renal Disease
- Pregnancy or Breastfeeding (including gestational diabetes and other high-risk perinatal conditions)
- Sickle Cell Disease
Recent Hospital or Nursing Facility Discharge
Patients discharged from a hospital or skilled nursing facility within the last 60 days are also eligible.
How to Enroll
Food FARMacy is by appointment only. There are two ways to enroll:
Medicaid Referral
Hurley Food FARMacy contracts with Michigan Region 6 Medicaid Health Plans. You may be referred if any of the following apply:
Your Medicaid Health Plan flags you as eligible after reviewing your health record.
Your doctor offers you the ILOS (In Lieu of Services) program.
You ask your doctor to recommend you for the ILOS program.
Patients must agree to participate before HFF can schedule an appointment.
Physician Referral
Hurley Food FARMacy partners with Hurley Medical Center, local clinics, and private practices — both inpatient and outpatient. Your provider can refer you if you qualify.
If your provider has given you a completed HFF eligibility form, call the number on the form to schedule your appointment.
Our Partners
We collaborate with healthcare providers and clinics to refer patients, and with over a dozen retailers, vendors, farmers markets, food banks, and local farmers to procure the healthiest foods possible. We source locally whenever we can.
Edible Flint
Local nonprofit and education garden supporting access to healthy, local foods.
Flint Fresh
A local produce wholesaler that partners with regional farms to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables weekly.
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan
Provides low-cost healthy foods including no-salt-added produce, minimally processed whole grains, and lean proteins.
Contact & Donate
Hurley Food FARMacy
2065 S. Center Rd.
Burton, MI 48519
Donate to Support Food FARMacy
Hurley Food FARMacy is supported in part by Hurley Medical Center (community reinvestment), the Greater Flint Health Coalition, United Way, HAP, and grants from local foundations and donors.