Inaugural Health Care by Food research award honors excellence in food is medicine science

DALLAS, March 23, 2026 - At a time when American dietary patterns are facing renewed attention, the American Heart Association has announced its inaugural Health Care by Food™ Most Impactful Food Is Medicine Research Award, honoring the year's most meritorious scientific study exploring effective ways to integrate healthy food into clinical care to address the growing prevalence and cost of cardiovascular disease and other diet-related chronic diseases.

The inaugural award recognizes the research team behind "Pilot study of a heart-healthy food box intervention for Native Americans with uncontrolled hypertension: methods and results from the Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study." This study was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health and was co-led by Principal Investigator Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH, and Tribal Principal Investigator Joy Standridge, MPH, RDN/LD, from the Chickasaw Nation. The study provides compelling evidence that culturally tailored, heart-healthy food box interventions - developed in partnership with tribal communities - are feasible and show promise for improving systolic blood pressure, diet quality and food security among Native American adults living with uncontrolled hypertension. The study highlights the potential of food bank-tribal partnerships as a strategy to reduce cardiometabolic disparities in communities facing longstanding barriers to healthy food access.

The award was presented to Tori Taniguchi, MPH, the study's lead author and director of data and research at the Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, OK. Taniguchi accepted the award on behalf of her research team at the Heart Association's EPI | Lifestyle Scientific Sessions, the premier event for epidemiology, lifestyle and cardiovascular disease prevention. At the conference, held last week in Boston, the Heart Association spotlighted Health Care by Food and the initiative's focus on emerging food is medicine research, implementation science and clinical innovation.

"This award reflects the American Heart Association's commitment to advancing rigorous food is medicine science that addresses health disparities and improves outcomes for patients at highest risk," said Kevin Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., Health Care by Food research lead and the Mark V Pauly Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School and Director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, University of Pennsylvania. "By recognizing exemplary research, the Heart Association aims to accelerate clinical adoption, support policy pathways and expand access to nutritious food as a component of health care."

The award recognizes innovative science that informs the development of food-is-medicine interventions - including medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries and produce prescriptions - that integrate healthy food into the health care of people managing, treating or preventing chronic disease. The initiative's goal is to identify interventions that are both clinically effective and cost effective.

"Our study contributes important new evidence demonstrating how culturally grounded, community-led nutrition interventions can support better blood pressure control and overall cardiometabolic health," Taniguchi said. "We hope our findings will lead to further study of how incorporating healthy food into health care can improve health and help prevent chronic disease."

"The study team represents a collaboration among the Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, OK; the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health at Washington State University in Seattle, WA; Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC; Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services in Ada, OK; and the University of Washington in Seattle, WA."

"Unhealthy diets are a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and many other chronic diseases," said American Heart Association Chief Executive Officer Nancy Brown. "By advancing the field of food is medicine, we are discovering effective approaches that leverage the power of healthy food to help treat, manage and prevent chronic disease."

The American Heart Association projects that more than 6 in 10 (61%) U.S. adults will have some form of cardiovascular disease by 2050 - up from about half of all adults currently. The Heart Association also estimates that over the next 25 years, the number of women living with cardiovascular disease is expected to rise sharply, to nearly 60% of women in the U.S.

The Health Care by Food initiative, which was launched in 2023 with foundational support from The Rockefeller Foundation, was created to address startling statistics like these. The initiative has funded 23 early-stage clinical research studies focused on identifying effective food-is-medicine interventions that improve health by incorporating healthy food into the care of people with or at risk for chronic disease. The initiative also is supporting public policies that help advance scientific research and educating health care professionals about the potential of food is medicine to improve public health.

Additional resources:

• Pilot study of a heart-healthy food box intervention for Native Americans with uncontrolled hypertension: methods and results from the Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study - PubMed
• Food Is Medicine: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association | Circulation
• A Systematic Review of "Food Is Medicine" Randomized Controlled Trials for Noncommunicable Disease in the United States: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association | Circulation

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public's health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

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