Same-day delivery service Shipt today announced new initiatives to address food insecurity, including a new partnership with the Healthy Behavior Optimization for Michigan (HBOM) program and our collaborators at MCT2D and MSHIELD, part of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Value Partnerships portfolio of Collaborative Quality Initiatives.
Shipt CEO Kamau Witherspoon announced the company’s efforts to improve access to fresh foods through public-private partnerships with the Healthy Behavior Optimization for Michigan program at the 2022 White House Conference for Hunger, Nutrition and Health.
The convening, which hasn’t taken place in more than 50 years, comes at a time when millions of Americans are facing food insecurity and diet-related diseases. At the conference, Witherspoon will explain the several new efforts the company is undertaking to increase access to affordable food options in underserved communities. One of these commitments includes partnership for our Healthy Eating Jumpstart Program, a collaboration between Shipt, HBOM, MShield, and the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D). The initiative is funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network.
“Shipt is delivering for the communities we serve by expanding access to healthy foods to those who need it most,” said Shipt CEO Witherspoon. “These new initiatives are an essential part of our ongoing commitment to put people first and make a meaningful impact in parts of our country that have been left out or left behind.”
The recently announced partnership builds on joint efforts from a 2019 pilot program, also led by HBOM’s Program Director Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS, which successfully looked at the dietary impact of delivering healthy groceries to pregnant young women with low incomes.
“Grocery delivery is a game-changing tool because it can change what foods are readily available in patients’ homes, making it easier for them to eat healthily,” said Chang. “This convenience and increased access to healthy foods can help patients jumpstart new habits to treat their conditions and feel better immediately.”
Tammy Chang, MD, MPH, MS, Program Director, Healthy Behavior Optimization for Michigan (HBOM)