Abbott, NACHC Launch Food For Health Initiative to Integrate Nutrition into Healthcare

Abbott and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) announced a multi-year effort to make nutrition counseling a part of primary healthcare at community health centers across the U.S.

The NACHC-Abbott partnership will include a national certification program to help CHCs develop systems and capacity to advance food for health, along with structured learning, training, and knowledge sharing for CHC staff to build capabilities and expertise in addressing immediate nutrition needs, integrating nutrition into healthcare delivery, and preventing and managing nutrition-related chronic diseases.  

“Since the first health center opened, Community Health Centers, the nation’s largest network of primary care providers, have led the way in addressing food insecurity and integrating nutrition into care delivery,” said Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, president and CEO of NACHC. “Our collaboration with Abbott builds on that legacy by strengthening Community Health Centers’ capacity to prevent and manage nutrition-related outcomes through evidence-based, practical solutions that are designed to improve health outcomes.”

“We often think about healthcare as what happens in a doctor’s office, but health is also shaped by access to nutritious food and knowledge of the role of food in your health,” said Melissa Brotz, senior vice president of Abbott and president of Abbott Fund, the company’s philanthropic foundation. “Food for Health is about bringing those things together, and we’re excited to work with NACHC and Community Health Centers to help make nutrition a core part of how people prevent disease, manage chronic conditions and live healthier.”

NACHC and Abbott have worked on advancing food for health within CHCs since 2023. In 2025, they assessed CHCs across 37 states to determine what’s working and what can be improved. While there was strong interest across CHCs in integrating nutrition and care, there was fragmented funding, training, data collection, and clinical implementation.

To close the gaps, NACHC and Abbott have developed:

• The Food for Health Learning Lab, a structured learning program to build nutrition literacy and expertise across the CHC workforce and guide health centers into implementing nutrition.
• The Food for Health Community of Practice, a peer-learning network to share practices, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from top experts.
• The Food for Health CORE (Certification of Readiness and Excellence), a voluntary national certification program that will recognize and support CHCs in developing systems, processes, and competencies needed to advance nutrition efforts.