Examining the Implementation of Rethink Food's Food is Medicine Model Leveraging Partnerships with Community-based Organizations and Restaurants

Introduction: Food insecurity affects 1.6 million New Yorkers and increases risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Traditional food assistance introduces barriers such as pantry stigma, lack of culturally centered foods, and raw ingredients requiring time and cooking skills. Food is Medicine (FIM) programs have emerged to address these gaps, yet few center on cultural relevance and community trust. Rethink Food, a non-profit organization in New York City (NYC), developed a FIM model that provides culturally tailored, nutritionally balanced hot meals at no cost. Meals are prepared by local restaurants and distributed through trusted community-based organizations (CBOs). Hypothesis: Implementation science examines how programs are adopted, adapted, and sustained in real-world settings. Assessing how Rethink Food’s model is implemented in Brooklyn, NYC will identify factors that support or hinder replicability and scalability in other urban settings. Methods: This implementation case study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide qualitative data collection and analysis. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Rethink Food (n=2), partner CBOs (n=3), and restaurants (n=3). Deductive content analysis identified themes across CFIR domains relevant to partnerships, adaptation, and sustainability. Results: Strengths included mission alignment across partners to reduce food waste, provide culturally tailored meals, and support local restaurants. Complementary roles were key: Rethink Food provided funding and infrastructure; CBOs offered trusted spaces; and restaurants contributed culinary expertise and operational capacity. The model’s adaptability enabled tailoring across delivery settings (churches, mobile trucks) and populations. A custom program app streamlined meal scheduling, coordination, and feedback for iterative refinements. Barriers included the logistics of coordinating multiple partners and pressure from funders to reduce costs. Post-COVID declines in philanthropic funding threatened sustainability, though creative financing strategies (restaurant-led fundraising) showed promise. Conclusions: The Rethink Food model illustrates how restaurant-CBO partnerships can operationalize FIM principles by delivering culturally tailored meals to food insecure communities while supporting local food systems. This model offers a scalable, partnership-driven approach to advancing food security and cardiometabolic health through FIM.