Nourishing Our Community

At Boston Medical Center (BMC), we recognize that access to nutritious, affordable food is a critical factor in achieving better health outcomes. This belief drives our every action and shapes the care we provide to our patients and community.

Care in Our Community Meet Our Team

Food Is Medicine

For over 20 years, BMC has tackled food insecurity through pioneering programs like our Preventive Food Pantry and Teaching Kitchen. We’ve reshaped healthcare by addressing patients’ core needs and proving that food is medicine.

Defining Food Is Medicine
A collaborative partnership between health systems and communities to deliver food-based nutrition programs and interventions aimed at promoting health, enhancing wellbeing, and supporting the prosperity of local populations.

Our mission is to continue to leverage food is medicine to improve food access for all, invest in a sustainable local food system, and empower communities through skill-building education.

I was tired of having mothers burst into tears when I told them their children had to eat three times a day.

- Deborah Frank, MD, founder of BMC’s Preventive Food Pantry
Headshot of Dr. Deborah Frank

Programs and Initiatives

BMC's Nourishing Our Community programs unite services, partnerships, and research to reduce food insecurity and promote health equity across Boston. This expansive initiative serves as a national model for hospitals, prioritizing access to healthy food and resources as an essential aspect of care.

The Nourishing Our Community Program brings our mission to fruition by offering:

Preventive Food Pantry

BMC’s Preventive Food Pantry was one of the nation’s first hospital-based pantries and provides fresh, healthy food to patients facing food insecurity.

Teaching Kitchen

Our Teaching Kitchen offers hands-on culinary education, empowering patients and community members to make healthy, affordable meals at home.

Rooftop Farm

The Rooftop Farm grows fresh produce that is used in hospital meals and distributed to patients through our food programs.

Boston Medical Center Health System recognizes that a healthy environment is essential to a healthy community. By focusing on sustainability, we’re addressing the root causes of poor health, including creating an environment that helps ensure access to fresh, nutritious food. Our Clean Power Prescription Program is also a key part of our efforts to promote overall health through environmental responsibility.

Our Impact and Legacy

From serving millions to launching educational programs, we’ve demonstrated the undeniable link between nutrition and health.

1.5 million

people served since the Preventive Food Pantry launched in 2001

1 million pounds

of food distributed annually

8,000 square feet

of growing space at our rooftop farms

15 culinary-nutrition classes

taught virtually and in-person per month

BMC Teaching Kitchen Manager Gabrielle Simons stands at the counter behind an array of prepped ingredients including beans, tomato, lime, and spices

In the News

Our work has gained national recognition for reshaping healthcare through the idea that food is medicine. Explore recent coverage:

Together, we’re proving that food can do more than nourish — it can heal, empower, and transform communities.

Watch Our Story

Get Involved!

We’re always looking for volunteers for our Rooftop Farms and Teaching Kitchen!