April 15th, 2026
To: Senator Carter, and Members, Families, Seniors, and Health Committee
From: Amanda Berry, Food Security Policy Manager, Empower Missouri
Re: Support for HB 2372
Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food for a healthy, active life. In Missouri, that is not a small issue. The Missouri Hunger Atlas published that in 2025, over 900,0001 Missourians are food insecure, that’s about one out of every seven of our neighbors who live without the ability to consistently consume healthy food.
This matters for healthcare because food insecurity is directly tied to higher rates of expensive, chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, as well as complications during pregnancy. When families lack reliable access to nutritious food, these conditions become more common and more severe, requiring long-term management and increasing overall healthcare utilization. As a result, we are not just treating illness; we are treating the downstream consequences of that lack of access, placing a sustained burden on families, the healthcare system, and, in the case of Medicaid, the state.
Right now, we do not have a structured way to address that gap. We are paying for emergency visits, hospitalizations, and long-term disease management, to the tune of over $1 billion per year, but we are not investing in prevention in a consistent, healthcare-driven way. Food is Medicine is prevention. Prevention costs less than treatment. Helping people access healthy food before illness escalates is one of the most practical ways to contain healthcare costs.
This bill gives us a way to test that. If approved, it would allow providers to connect patients with medically appropriate food, whether that is produce prescriptions or medically tailored meals. And it does so through a federal waiver, which means it is time-limited, measured, and accountable.
This is not about creating a new entitlement. It is about running a controlled demonstration to answer a simple question: if we address the root cause, can we improve outcomes and reduce costs?
Because the reality is, Missouri is already paying for this problem. The only question is whether we continue paying on the back end, or whether we test a smarter, prevention-focused approach on the front end.
This is a practical step. It is data-driven. And it gives Missouri the opportunity to lead.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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