When the federal government began measuring food insecurity in the 1990s, most researchers focused on low-income families. But Colleen Heflin noticed a different group standing out in the data: military veterans.
“I have deep roots in the field, and I’ve grown up with it academically,” says Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “One of the things I noticed early on is that military veterans have a differential risk of food insecurity.”
Maxwell School graduate students, from left, Hyeryung Jo, Jack Baldwin and Ashraf Haque are assisting in the research project—Baldwin and Haque through their work with the X Lab.
With $700,000 in funding from organizations including The Rockefeller Foundation and the New York Health Foundation and support from Instacart, Heflin is spearheading a collaborative effort to address the issue head on. In collaboration with the Maxwell X Lab and the Syracuse VA Medical Center, she is leading a year-long study focused on improving food access and nutrition for veterans in the Syracuse area.
The funding will support a pilot program that provides roughly 250 eligible veterans with monthly Instacart vouchers, called Fresh Funds, to purchase healthy grocery items such as fruits, vegetables, poultry and seafood, for delivery. In addition to the food subsidy, participants will receive nutritional support through cooking classes as well as individual counseling from a registered dietician to learn ways to incorporate healthier eating habits into their daily lives.
Colleen Heflin
The pilot is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ broader Food is Medicine effort which emphasizes the importance of equipping veterans with knowledge and resources to make healthy choices and improve long-term health outcomes.
Veterans who are invited to participate in the study reside in rural areas of Central New York and have diagnosed conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or obesity that are sensitive to diet and nutrition. Randomly selected participants will receive a $100 monthly Fresh Funds voucher through Instacart for 12 months, along with significantly reduced fees for home delivery of medically tailored groceries.
The goal is to determine whether increased access to healthy food and nutrition education can lead to measurable health improvements over time.
The study will use rigorous, randomized controlled trial design created in partnership with the Maxwell X Lab and will be conducted remotely, allowing veterans to participate from their homes. Participants will be asked to complete surveys on their well-being and food habits.
The findings aim to inform future VA policy and potentially expand access to similar services for veterans nationwide.
“Food is Medicine begins with the essential premise that what we eat is important to our health,” says Heflin. “Everyone working on this project is highly motivated to support veterans and do good science to better understand the effectiveness of these programs.”
A senior research associate with the Center for Policy Research and a research affiliate with the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health, Heflin has spent decades studying food policy and federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Leaders at the VA Medical Center contacted Heflin after she testified before Congress on military food insecurity. Their conversations helped spark the collaboration.
“The veteran health community has been overwhelmingly supportive,” says Heflin. “They’re very interested in seeing how we can address food insecurity among veterans.”
Leonard Lopoo
Heflin and fellow Maxwell researchers are also thankful for the external support provided by The Rockefeller Foundation, the New York Health Foundation and Instacart. The lead funder, The Rockefeller Foundation, has pledged $100 million to support the expansion of Food Is Medicine initiatives. Additional collaborations have involved the University of Utah, 4P Foods, Duke University, AboutFresh and Reinvestment Partners.
“We have a great working relationship with all the partners and are grateful for the collaboration and support we have received from them,” says Hannah Patnaik, managing director of the X Lab and Food is Medicine project lead for the lab. “We are so excited to have officially launched the project and are eager to better understand the impact of medically tailored groceries on a rural veteran population.”
In addition to Heflin and Patnaik, the Maxwell research team includes X Lab Director Leonard Lopoo and public administration and international affairs graduate students Jack Baldwin, Ashraf Haque and Hyeryung Jo.
Hannah Patnaik
Late this summer, the Syracuse VA and Maxwell research team was working to enroll roughly 600 participants in the study. They hope to continue tracking participants long term to assess whether dietary and health improvements continue.
For Heflin, the project represents an opportunity to bring together academic research and real-world impact.
“I’m motivated by the chance to improve somebody’s day-to-day life,” says Heflin. “I do a lot of research on data that’s already been collected, and I rarely get the chance to impact somebody’s life in the moment. That’s really exciting.”
The potential for the project extends well beyond Syracuse. The findings could also influence other public health programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or state-level food and nutrition services.
“We’re hoping that by using the most rigorous scientific methods, that we will be able to move health policy,” says Heflin. “Both within the VA and within the larger community.”
Story by Mikayla Melo
