Diabetes and heart disease are common in the rural community of Cordell, Oklahoma.
The small hospital there is one of a handful across the state providing medically tailored meals with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to help patients manage chronic conditions without traveling to larger cities for complex care.
More than 35 patients of Cordell Memorial Hospital are receiving tailored meals and nutrition education through the program.
“We are committed to caring for our patients and keeping them in the community,” says Melinda Laird, the 12-bed hospital’s CEO and chief nursing officer. Much of the city’s population is older and lower income, and Oklahoma City is more than an hour away.
A $65,000 Blue Impact℠ grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma in 2025 has helped expand the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Medically Tailored Meal Program. The funding is enabling the food bank to distribute about 21,600 meals for almost 150 patients.
In 2024, the Oklahoma City-based food bank launched its Medically Tailored Meal Program to address the dietary needs of residents with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Results show improved health outcomes for patients with diabetes and heart disease, the food bank reports. A previous Blue Impact grant helped the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma pilot the program.
“The Medically Tailored Meal Program has been transformative for us,” says Stephanie Harris, the food bank’s chief impact officer. “Letting us insert ourselves into improving people’s health is truly life changing. We’re helping get people out of a life of chronic illness.”
BCBSOK’s Blue Impact program targets social and economic factors that influence health — including access to nutritious food. Last year, BCBSOK awarded 21 nonprofits statewide more than $993,000 in Blue Impact grants. Fifty percent of the grants were awarded to rural communities and statewide programs, while the remaining funds were awarded to the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas.
Another Blue Impact grant helped expand the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s mobile market to increase access to fruits and vegetable to more Oklahomans at no cost. Hunger Free Oklahoma received a grant to support its summer nutrition programs to combat child hunger. The investments helped address access to food in rural areas.
“As an Oklahoma-grown company, we are focused on positively impacting our state’s health,” says Brooke Townsend, BCBSOK community affairs director. “Our Blue Impact grants target barriers to a healthy life, such as having employment, access to nutritious food and stable housing.”
Patients selected for the Medically Tailored Meals Program have been diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease and screened for food insecurity. They complete an initial health assessment and receive 20-25 meals monthly for nine months, as well as disease management education. Afterward, participants complete a final assessment, measuring health outcomes, nutrition security, health care use, medication affordability and disease self-management.
Research published in Health Affairs estimates that scaling medically tailored meals nationally to high-risk patients with diet-related conditions would significantly reduce hospitalizations and save billions of dollars in health care costs.
The food bank believes the program could become a national model, helping food-insecure participants improve their health and give them the confidence to manage their conditions.
“The meals give them a little more control over their conditions,” says Eric Baker, the food bank’s health and nutrition manager. Prepared meals include chili, spaghetti and chicken curry.
Laird’s anxious to see the difference the meals make in patient health outcomes.
“I’m very pleased to see the number of patients who have remained committed to the program,” she says.