Trinity Health Michigan describes hospital-based "Food as Medicine" farms, seeks state partnership to expand

Trinity Health Michigan officials told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security on Oct. 11, 2025, that the health system operates hospital farms and nutrition programs that supplied produce to clinical partners and 20,000 patients in 2024 and that the system is seeking state partnership and Medicaid-managed-care reimbursement to expand the work.

Caitlin Smoger, director of Food as Medicine on the Farm at Trinity Health Michigan, told the committee the system currently maintains farm sites at Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Trinity Health Oakland and Trinity Health Muskegon McLaughlin Groves and has delivered fresh produce to clinics, community pantries and a FarmShare box program.

Smoger said, “We serve 20,000 patients with food from our farms,” and described a “Produce to Patients” approach that places small fridges in clinic exam rooms, operates client-choice food pantries at hospital sites and runs a 36-week FarmShare box program that pairs subsidized shares for…