HB 2343 Summary

• Establishes a three-year food as medicine grant pilot program in the Department of Health Services to address the connection between nutrition, diet-related illnesses, and poor health outcomes.

• Requires the Department to award at least five grants by March 1, 2024, addressing nutrition education, healthy food access, local food supply chains, diet-related disease reduction, and integration of health care with food and nutrition programming.

• Mandates at least two of five grants be awarded to recipients in rural service areas and prioritizes applicants demonstrating cross-sector collaboration.

• Department must report on pilot program progress by November 1, 2025 and June 1, 2027 to the governor, legislature, and state officials.

• Appropriates $5,000,000 from the state general fund for fiscal year 2023-2024, with any remaining funds reverting to the general fund on July 1, 2027; the program expires June 30, 2027.