Research Task Force

Origin Story: A Research Task Force (RTF)was established by the Massachusetts Food is Medicine State Plan to create and support research efforts that expands our understanding of how nutrition services can help to prevent, manage, and treat complex health conditions while reducing health care costs and how integrating those services into health care impact stakeholders. Over the summer of 2021, RTF members revised their mission statement and reimagined the goals of the task force.

Mission Statement: FIMMA’s Research Task Force seeks to strengthen the quality, increase the quantity, and further the impact of Food is Medicine research and program evaluation in Massachusetts

Leaders: Urshila Sriram (Department of Nutrition of Simmons University) and Dan Wexler (EatWell Meal Kits) are currently leading RTF efforts with support from Kristin Sukys (Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation). Charlotte Bruce and Rich Sheward from Children’s HealthWatch were task force leaders August 2018- July 2021.

Goals:

  • Goal 1A: Create and promote standardized metrics for FIM program evaluation in Massachusetts

  • Goal 1B: Advance racial and ethnic equity in FIM research and program evaluation

  • Goal 2A: Encourage smaller CBOs to collect data about their programs

  • Goal 2B: Encourage private health care payers that offer FIM programming to share evaluation data

  • Goal 2C: Support FIMMA advocacy efforts to expand Food is Medicine research and evaluation opportunities through the state legislation and budget process

  • Goal 2D: Support FIMMA advocacy efforts to improve access to Food is Medicine programming through MassHealth

  • Goal 3A: Expand and strengthen the network of FIM research and evaluation stakeholders

  • Goal 3B: Enhance FIM research and program evaluation education and information sharing

Current Projects:

  • Creating standardized metrics for FIM program evaluation in Massachusetts

Past Projects and Materials:

  • Coming Soon!

For more information about the Research Task Force, please contact Katie Garfield (kgarfield@law.harvard.edu).