Food & Friends

What Food & Friends does

Food & Friends is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1988 that prepares and home-delivers medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, and nutrition counseling to individuals living with serious illnesses across a 6,172 square mile service area covering Washington DC, nine Maryland counties, and seven Virginia counties plus six independent cities. Operating from a 25,000-square-foot facility (the William P. Bresler Building) with 66 staff members and nearly 4,400 volunteers, the organization produced approximately 1.89 million meals in 2023 and serves over 5,400 individuals annually. Its client base spans people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, poorly-controlled diabetes, stage 5 renal disease, congestive heart failure, COPD, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson's, and Cystic Fibrosis, with all client-facing services provided free of charge and eligibility determined entirely by medical need rather than income or insurance status.

The core product is a medically tailored meal intervention combining 11 specialized meal plans (medically balanced, low lactose, dialysis-friendly, soft, no fish, high calorie, vegetarian, no beef/no pork, mild/low fiber, shelf stable, and pureed), each averaging 1,800 calories, 80g protein, and a maximum of 2,000mg sodium daily, developed by registered dietitians and professional chefs. Delivery operations run through the Brad Clark Meal Delivery Program, which includes 10 refrigerated vans, staff drivers, and delivery coordinators completing an average of 206 deliveries per day, of which more than 60% are completed by volunteers. In April 2024, Food & Friends became the first organization in the United States to achieve accreditation from the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), establishing itself as the regulatory standard-setter for the sector and unlocking further opportunities for evidence-based contracting with healthcare payers.

The organization operates a hybrid nonprofit business model in which philanthropy provides 50% of the operating budget, government grants and contracts provide 40%, and healthcare payer partnerships provide 10%. Client acquisition is referral-led, with healthcare providers required to refer patients and more than 300 referral partners across the DC-MD-VA region including George Washington University Hospital, Meritus Health, Shady Grove Adventist, and AmeriHealth Caritas DC. Major philanthropic gifts have funded operational expansion: the Brad Clark $5M gift in 2021 (the largest in the organization's history) enabled the delivery program, and a $30M Nourish Together capital campaign launched in 2025 is funding facility expansion and doubling of meal production over the next decade. The organization reports measurable clinical outcomes including 84% of clients reporting improved health, 63% lower rehospitalization rates, and up to $52,554 per-person healthcare cost savings for highest-risk members, validated by the 2025 Maryland Medically Tailored Meals & Hospital Utilization Technical Report.

Name

Food & Friends

Legal name

Food & Friends, Inc.

Website

https://foodandfriends.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Food & Friends is a Washington, DC-area 501(c)(3) nonprofit that prepares and home-delivers medically tailored meals, groceries, and nutrition counseling to individuals living with serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and diabetes across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medically Tailored Meal Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Special Food Services (7223)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro primary industry

Meal Preparation, Nutrition Support & Feeding Assistance (HLADAGAD)

Keywords

• Medically tailored meals
• Home-delivered meals
• Nutrition counseling services
• Food is medicine
• Community-based meal delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropy: Individual donors, corporations, and foundations provide 50% of operating budget. Includes major gifts, annual giving, planned giving, and workplace giving campaigns.
2. Government Grants and Contracts: Federal, state, and local government grants and contracts provide 40% of operating budget.
3. Healthcare Payer Partnerships: Partnerships with health care payers and health plans provide 10% of operating budget. Includes partnerships with insurers for medically tailored meal programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Food & Friends prepares and home-delivers medically tailored meals and groceries, and provides nutrition counseling, to individuals living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses across the Washington, DC region. Meals are designed by registered dietitians and professional chefs across 11 specialized meal plans, delivered free of charge to clients referred by healthcare providers.

Product overview

Food & Friends operates as a single-site nonprofit meal delivery organization offering three core services: Medically Tailored Meals (HDM), Medically Tailored Groceries (MTG), and Nutrition Counseling. These services are integrated into a comprehensive Food is Medicine approach where registered dietitians and professional chefs collaborate to develop 11 different meal plans tailored to individual medical conditions. The Brad Clark Meal Delivery Program encompasses the delivery operations including staff drivers, volunteer coordination, and a fleet of refrigerated vans. Beyond direct service delivery, Food & Friends runs engagement programs including Chef's Best Dinner & Auction (annual flagship fundraiser), Move for Meals (monthly fitness fundraiser), Summer Tours (facility tours), and the Young Professionals Board (ambassador program). The organization also offers an Insurer Partnership Program for healthcare payers seeking to provide medically tailored meal benefits to members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brad Clark Meal Delivery Program: Named in honor of philanthropist Brad Clark who donated $5 million. Includes professional delivery drivers, dedicated delivery coordinators, ten refrigerated delivery vans, and operational tools supporting the delivery of medically tailored meals across 6,172 square miles.
• Chef's Best Dinner & Auction
• Nourish Together: Building a Healthy Community Campaign

Products and services

• Medically Tailored Meals (HDM) Home-delivered medically tailored meals prepared by professional chefs and designed by registered dietitians to address individual medical needs. Delivered Monday through Saturday directly to clients' homes across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
• Medically Tailored Groceries (MTG) Bi-weekly grocery deliveries including fresh produce, frozen meats, frozen soups and entrees prepared in-house, and pantry items, designed by registered dietitians for clients' medical needs.
• Nutrition Counseling Personalized nutrition counseling and meal plans provided by registered and licensed Community Dietitians, including one-on-one phone or Zoom appointments, virtual classes, educational workshops, and materials on nutrition, food safety, and recipes.
• Brad Clark Meal Delivery Program Named delivery program encompassing professional delivery drivers, delivery coordinators, ten refrigerated delivery vans, and operational tools supporting home delivery across 6,172 square miles; on average 206 deliveries completed per day with over 60% completed by volunteers.
• Insurer Partnership Program B2B partnership program for health plans and healthcare systems providing evidence-based home-delivered meal interventions, including enhanced care coordination, specialized menus, personalized deliveries, expedited intake, secure electronic billing, and HIPAA-compliant services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of clients reported improved health
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• George Washington University HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2021Care Transition Pilot Program providing home-delivered, medically tailored meals and nutrition support to high-risk coronary patients being discharged from the hospital. Enrolled patients receive meals within 48 hours of discharge and are connected with registered dietitians.
• Meritus HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Meritus Health in Hagerstown, MD to expand access and increase equitable care for Washington County residents via a grant from the Maryland Department of Health and the Community Health Resources Commission. Providing medically tailored meals, groceries and medical nutrition therapy to patients living with type II diabetes.
• Prince George's CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Prince George's County Executive's Community Partnership Grant (CPG) program to enhance quality of life for residents through food and nutrition interventions.
• Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of national association of nonprofit medically tailored food and nutrition service providers. Food & Friends played central role in developing FIMC accreditation standards and was first agency to earn accreditation in 2024.
• AmeriHealth Caritas DCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide nutritionally tailored meals to expectant moms with high-risk pregnancies.
• Shady Grove Adventist HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpanded referral partnership developed in recognition of rapidly growing population in Montgomery County. Added 50,000 meals capacity in 2013.
• American Kidney FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for kidney-friendly nutrition education video as part of the cooking video series (Episode 8).
• Capital Area Food BankminorOthersFood & Friends is a member of the Capital Area Food Bank which provides food for purchase at reduced rates.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• GA Foods: For-profit provider of home-delivered meals serving managed care plans and government programs, including medically tailored offerings. Comparable in payer-facing MTM delivery and large-scale distribution infrastructure.
• Ceres Community Project: Sonoma County nonprofit delivering medically tailored meals to people facing serious health challenges, with a youth-development volunteer model. Smaller-scale MTM peer with comparable nutrition counseling and dietitian-developed menus.

Regional players

• Moveable Feast: Maryland-based nonprofit that delivers food to people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses in the Baltimore and Maryland Eastern Shore region. Geographic peer with overlapping service area and similar AIDS-rooted mission.

Direct peers

• Mom's Meals: For-profit national provider of refrigerated home-delivered meals serving Medicaid Managed Care, Medicare Advantage, and dual-eligible members. Comparable in medically tailored meal delivery and healthcare payer contracting, but operates as a scaled commercial operator.
• God's Love We Deliver: New York City-based nonprofit founded in 1985 that cooks and home-delivers medically tailored meals to people living with serious illnesses including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and heart disease. Closest peer to Food & Friends in mission, founding era, and home-delivery MTM model.
• Community Servings: Boston-area nonprofit providing home-delivered medically tailored meals to individuals and families affected by critical and chronic illnesses. Direct peer with similar Food is Medicine model and outcomes research.
• Project Angel Food: Los Angeles nonprofit that has delivered medically tailored meals to critically ill clients since 1989. Direct peer in home-delivered MTM with similar AIDS-origin history and healthcare payer partnerships.
• MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance): Philadelphia-based nonprofit providing home-delivered medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling to clients with serious illnesses. Highly comparable in services, FIMC membership, and mission scope.
• Project Open Hand: San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit providing meals and groceries to seniors and individuals living with critical illnesses including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and heart disease. Long-established MTM peer and FIMC member.
• Open Hand Atlanta: Atlanta nonprofit providing home-delivered medically tailored meals and nutrition education to individuals with chronic disease and disability. Direct peer in FIMC-coalition MTM delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foodandfriends
• Facebookfacebook.com/foodandfriends

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food & Friends