This year health plans administering Medi-Cal will be allowed to bill for community-based provider services or In Lieu of Services (ILOS) components that connect eligible populations with food and nutrition resources. This offers a great opportunity for us to support food as medicine strategies such as medically tailored meals and groceries, healthy food boxes, and healthy food vouchers via a sustainable and structured source of funding. After several explorative discussions with multiple stakeholders, we are convening the Food as Medicine Working Group to bring important partners to the table to implement a system-wide change to connect eligible SMC Health clients to local, healthy food sources, and mitigate food insecurity. More details to follow as we re-group and learn more. Please contact Sonali Suratkar if you have any questions: ssuratkar@smcgov.org.