AUTUMN 2018 - Healthy Meals with Local Flavor - Pie in the Sky

Sep 27, 2026

AUTUMN 2018 highlights Community Servings’ approach to medically-tailored meals built from local, seasonal produce donated by farms and food rescue organizations. The newsletter explains how the program scales from 30 hot meals daily in 1998 to 2,500 meals daily today, addresses the ongoing wait list, and outlines expansion plans through policy work. It profiles Anne’s experience with diabetes-focused meal support and summarizes measurable healthcare cost savings and positive outcomes from medically-tailored interventions. It also promotes the 26th annual Pie in the Sky Thanksgiving bake sale, including how to sell pies or sponsor the event to fund home-delivered meals.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Healthy Meals with Local Flavor

Program impact and medical diets

Local Foods program with community partners

Events: Pie in the Sky

Become a Pie Seller

Become a Pie Sponsor

AUTUMN 2018 F E AT U R E September marks the beginning of fall, when the summer’s bounty is in full swing. At Community Servings, our walk-in coolers are bursting with produce donated by local farms and food rescue organizations-food that our culinary team uses to prepare nutritious, made-from-scratch meals. “What’s the catch of the day?” is the first question Anne has for Warren, a Community Servings’Delivery Driver, when he arrives at her door with her weekly meal delivery. Anne likes to joke with Warren that he must have come straight from the farm fields or fishing boat, considering how vibrant the meals are that he delivers. Continued on page 3 Healthy Meals with Local Flavor Dear Friends, Over the past two decades, I have walked into work each day with pride, knowing that I’m entering an organization that provides sustenance and nourishment to those battling illnesses. When I started working at Community Servings in 1998, we were delivering 30 hot meals each day for clients with HIV/AIDS in two Boston neighborhoods. It is astounding to think that now we prepare and deliver 2,500 meals a day for clients with over 35 different critical and chronic illnesses who live throughout 326 square miles in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. And yet, we still have a wait list for our meals program. Our vision for the future is to triple our own capacity to meet that need, as well as increase the capacity of organizations across the country by forming a Food & Health Policy Center that will scale our model nation-wide, thus changing the way America feeds the sick. As we grow, it is important for us to continue to provide our critically ill neighbors with the comfort they need when they’re unable to care for themselves or their families, and help those beyond our current delivery area. Community Servings has done so by making the case to healthcare insurers and payers that providing medically-tailored meals to critically and chronically ill individuals not only saves money, but also improves health outcomes. When insurers cover medically-tailored meals, which, research shows, lead to a 16% savings in healthcare costs, our model can be replicated in areas where philanthropic dollars aren’t able to support programs like ours. It’s our goal to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors, whether in Massachusetts or elsewhere, are provided with meals that not only help them manage their illness, but also provide much-needed comfort. With thanks, David B. Waters CEO F E AT U R E Continued Healthy Meals with Local Flavor A 58-year-old Dorchester native who loves spending time with her four grandchildren and singing in her church choir, Anne has also battled diabetes for years. 2018 marks her fifth year of receiving Community Servings’meals.“I receive a variety of foods I never used to eat – fish, whole grains, and the like. I get a nutritious diet that my doctor trusts, and I feel healthy.” Each year, Community Servings prepares and delivers 650,000 made-from-scratch, medically-tailored meals to people battling critical and chronic illnesses. Research indicates that medicallytailored meal interventions have a positive impact on healthcare utilization and costs, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Infact, a study of Community Servings’clients showed a 16% savingson total cost of care due to decreased emergency room visits, inpatient admissions, and emergency transportation services. Our Local Foods program grew out of the desire to elevate nutrition care for the chronically and critically ill by using fresh, seasonal ingredients, while supporting and partnering with local farmers, fisheries, and other producers of local foods. Growing this farmto-institution pipeline brings more foods with the highest level of nutrients to our low-income, critically ill clients, maximizing the role of nutrition in managing their illnesses. For many of our clients, access to fresh fruits and vegetables is extremely difficul

FAQs

What is Community Servings’ “Healthy Meals with Local Flavor” program?

It prepares medically-tailored, made-from-scratch meals using donated local produce to support people with critical and chronic illnesses.

How does the newsletter describe the outcomes and cost savings of medically-tailored meals?

It cites research indicating medically-tailored meal interventions can reduce healthcare costs by 16%, and reports a Community Servings client study showing savings from fewer emergency visits and admissions.

How can people help with the Pie in the Sky Thanksgiving bake sale?

Readers can become a Pie Seller to sell Thanksgiving pies or become a Pie Sponsor, with donations supporting home-delivered meals for critically ill neighbors.

Sep 27, 2026

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