Tech-enabled food delivery company FarmboxRx announced it is launching a Maternal Health Program to provide access to food and nutrition education to at-risk pregnant women during and after pregnancy.

The program can be curated for specific populations. It will promote health literacy, focusing on newborn and child immunizations, postpartum mental healthcare, prenatal and postpartum care, vision compliance and nutrition, newborn and delivery preparation, and education on government support programs.

"Beyond just delivering fresh food to nourish mother and baby, FarmboxRx is providing educational materials in a culturally competent and linguistically appropriate manner," Ashley Tyrner, founder and CEO of FarmboxRx, told MobiHealthNews in an email.  

"The materials are population-specific and focus on promoting strategic benefit utilization based on their unique needs and enabling moms to advocate for themselves in provider settings. We really treat the education components just as seriously as our food delivery here at FarmboxRx. To us, health equity is not just a multi-language insert; it’s ensuring that we have taken the time to understand our population's unique needs to provide a program that is impactful, including ensuring engagement materials are delivered in the member’s primary language to provide the same experience as our English speaking population." 

THE LARGER TREND

Maternal mortality rates for non-Hispanic Black women were 2.6 times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic White women in 2021, according to the CDC. For women of all races and Hispanic-origin groups, the rate of mortality increased from 23.8% in 2020 to 32.9% in 2021.

FarmboxRx has previously assembled programs focused on specific populations.

In 2020, the company announced a partnership with insurance company Vibra Health to provide fruit and vegetable boxes as a preventative care measure to elderly Medicare patients with diet issues or chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and renal failure. 

A year later, the New York-based company announced a partnership with Minnesota health plan HealthPartners to offer farm boxes to Minnesota Senior Health Options' Medicare members. 

Another food delivery company that has moved into the healthcare space is Instacart, which launched Instacart Health in 2022. The health division of Instacart offers products focused on providing nutritious foods through strategic partnerships with organizations. 

Instacart Health launched digital tools for providers last year, including Virtual Storefronts, which allows providers to give food recommendations to their patients; Shoppable Recipes, a tool for providers to recommend healthy recipes; and Lists for Nutrition, which enables providers to build medically tailored grocery lists. 

The company also partnered with Mount Sinai Solutions, a division of Mount Sinai Health System, to offer health plans to employers and unions focused on providing postpartum and postoperative patients access to grocery deliveries and Mount Sinai's Virtual Storefront.

"Implementation of Novel Home-Based Care Programs" is scheduled for Friday, March 15, 10:30-11 a.m. ET in W208C at HIMSS24 in Orlando. Learn more and register.