‘Research Made Possible’ podcast: Gustafson addresses food insecurity to improve health
The University of Kentucky’s Alison Gustafson is forming partnerships across campus and in communities throughout the Commonwealth to address food insecurity and its impact on the health of Kentuckians.
Gustafson holds the Gatton Foundation Endowed Chair and is a professor in the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition in the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE).
She launched the Food as Health Alliance in 2022 with internal support from the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Emerging Themes Program, part of the Research Leadership Academy and Dean Emeritus Nancy Cox with the Martin-Gatton-CAFE.
In this “Research Made Possible” podcast, Gustafson discusses her work and the innovative strategies to improve community well-being across Kentucky.
“I focus on addressing food insecurity as a key determinant on the pathway to diet-sensitive chronic disease outcomes,” said Gustafson, who serves as director of the Food as Health Alliance. “When we think of diabetes or hypertension, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease, we’ve seen in Kentucky and across the nation that those who are food insecure are then more likely to have type 2 diabetes or hypertension.”
In 2024, the Food as Health Alliance was one of the first recipients of a research award from the American Heart Association’s food is medicine initiative, Health Care by Food™. The initiative is building the evidence needed to show clinical and cost effectiveness so patients with diet-related diseases or with risk factors for disease can access food as medicine programs as a covered benefit through public and private health insurance.
Thanks to partnerships with UK HealthCare and Appalachian Regional Health Care, so far the Alliance’s pilot programs — with targeted approaches for rural and urban populations — have enrolled more than 600 adults ages 18-64 who receive Medicaid.
“Many people are using food as medicine, but we want to look at the bigger system. Are clinic providers screening for food insecurity?” Gustafson said. “We want to understand how we are going to refer those patients who have been identified as food insecure and have hypertension or type 2 diabetes. Ultimately, what kind of program or package are we going to offer them to improve their health outcomes?”
Gustafson was also awarded a Humana Foundation research grant in partnership with University of Louisville Health to test a nutrition intervention aimed at lower-resource families with nutrition-related conditions.
Gustafson says one of the main challenges to overcome is getting food directly to those who need it most. The Alliance team is partnering with food delivery services such as DoorDash and Instacart, to ensure meals or meal kits are delivered.
“We hope that our research informs policy. We want to show that providing food packages tailored for diabetes and hypertension to thousands of Kentucky residents will move the needle on health outcomes and food insecurity.”
Listen to the podcast on YouTube.
About the Food as Health Alliance
The Food as Health Alliance at the University of Kentucky seeks to bring together clinical and community research spanning across agriculture, food and health to address food insecurity and diet-sensitive chronic disease. Researchers, clinicians, community partners, food commodity producers, health care partners and students explore innovative strategies to improve patient clinical outcomes and the health of Kentuckians. Learn more
About the Emerging Themes for Research program
Gustafson is one of six UK researchers participating in the Research Leadership Academy’s Emerging Themes for Research program. The purpose of the program is to support emerging research that creates, grows and sustains a healthier, wealthier and wiser Kentucky. Learn more
