Food insecurity is a major driver of health, playing a sizable role in people’s health status. In adults, food insecurity can lead to increased risk of obesity and chronic disease, while children facing food insecurity are at risk for a number of physical, mental, and developmental health concerns. As the push towards value-based care increases, health care executives are increasingly looking to make progress in improving communities’ and patients’ drivers of health, and food insecurity is no exception.

The progress health care executives are trying to make in advancing value-based care can also be referred to as their “job to be done”. A job is the progress someone seeks in a given situation or under specific circumstances. When a job arises, people hire products or services to get those jobs done. People “hire” products or services that they believe have the best potential to accomplish their job.

Several products and services are available for “hire” to address the issue of food insecurity, ranging from federal programs to individual initiatives established by health care providers and community based organizations. In our most recent research on the drivers of health, we discovered a number of innovative programs across the country, with many health leaders seeking to address food insecurity for their patients.

However, one yet to-be-explored solution could be tapping into a current trend: partnering with “ugly” food companies.

“Ugly” food companies, such as Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods, work by sending customers boxes of groceries, namely fruits and vegetables, that are considered too “ugly” to be sold at traditional grocery stores. Users place an order online, pick out which products they would like to receive, and the food is shipped directly to their house. Many of these companies, such as Misfits, specifically developed their offerings to address the level of food waste in the US. But they also present a viable solution for a health executive’s job to be done around drivers of health.

Read the full article about food security solutions by Jessica Plante at Christensen Institute.