In Massachusetts, one in three residents face a silent yet pervasive threat: food insecurity. Many struggle daily to afford nutritious meals, forcing agonizing choices between basic needs like rent, medication and groceries.
But food insecurity isn’t just about hunger. It can be the linchpin in a cascade of health issues, from mental health challenges like depression and anxiety to chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. It can make it more difficult for adults to work and for children to learn. Lack of access to nutritious food sentences vulnerable people to a cycle of ill health and economic hardship.
To help address this issue, the Biogen Foundation supports a range of high-impact nonprofit programs, including The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Mobile Markets. Through Mobile Markets set up at eight community health centers across the Greater Boston area, patients, caregivers and other community members can “shop” at tables set up like a farmers market and choose from a diverse selection of fresh produce, dairy products and high-protein foods.
“The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Mobile Markets provide a non-stigmatizing way for community members to receive healthy foods from their healthcare center. Anchoring them in the medical home has made patients feel welcomed and cared for wholly by their medical provider,” shared Lauren Fiechtner, M.D., M.P.H., Director of Nutrition, Division of Gastroenterology and General Academic Pediatrics at Mass General for Children and Senior Health and Research Advisor at The Greater Boston Food Bank.
Tables are set up with fresh produce for community members at the Greater Family Health Center Mobile Market.
“We need [fruit and vegetables], so I make the effort to get it because it’s something very important. Sometimes one does not have enough to buy fruit,” a frequent Mobile Market patron shared. “I am a single mother; I earn very little and so the market is a help. I feel that it helps me a lot.”
The power of Mobile Markets was underscored by a 2023 study in the New England Journal of Medicine’s Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, which found that community health center patients who participated in The Greater Boston Food Bank Mobile Markets experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms over a three-year period. Mental health improved for all Mobile Market participants, with people who were diagnosed with moderate or severe depression before they began shopping at the market experiencing the largest improvement. A majority of study participants were enrolled in Medicaid and spoke Spanish as a primary language, and about half received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Anchoring [healthy foods] in the medical home has made patients feel welcomed and cared for wholly by their medical provider.
“It is important to remember that community-based interventions may have important positive effects that go beyond their primary outcome,” said study senior author Yorghos Tripodis, Professor of Biostatistics. “Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of food security in various aspects of a person’s health.”
The Biogen Foundation has proudly partnered with The Greater Boston Food Bank for more than three decades, investing countless volunteer hours and $1.7 million, the equivalent of 3.4 million healthy meals for our neighbors in need.
