Our Research & Evaluations

Project Bread is committed to listening and learning from the communities we serve, aiming to reduce bias rather than replicate it. Understanding food insecurity — who it impacts, how it impacts, and how people access help — is critical to inform equitable policy priorities and our programmatic response.

We recognize and uphold the right of marginalized communities to have the resources they need to break down barriers and inform the best way to meet their own needs.

Through our research, we aim to better understand the barriers that individuals and communities face to access food and utilizing existing solutions, so we can better meet their needs.

• Cost savings for ACOs: 28.8% reduction in total cost of care per member, equivalent to approximately $6,360 in annual savings per member 

• Improved blood sugar control: A1c level decline of 10.94 to 9.55 for clients with poorest glycemic control 

• Reduced food insecurity: 15.3 percentage point decrease in reported food insecurity 

• Strong SNAP participation: 86.4% of clients were enrolled in SNAP 

• Boost in healthy eating habits: 4 additional servings of fruits and vegetables for clients per week 

• Greater confidence in nutrition knowledge: 85.8% of clients felt confident in their nutrition knowledge 

Our findings demonstrate that integrating food and nutrition services into health care improves health outcomes, reduces hunger, and decreases avoidable health care costs. Food security programs that support health care-based interventions must also be protected and strengthened.

Project Bread is the largest provider of nutrition services through the Flexible Services program with MassHealth. This program aims to increase food security for food insecure patients with qualifying medical conditions. A recently released study by researchers at UMass Chan Medical School. found participation was associated with:

• 23% decrease in hospitalizations

• 13% decrease in emergency department visits, compared to eligible individuals who did not participate

• saved $2,502 in health care costs per adult, exceeding its delivery cost and generating $1.8 million in net savings.

While these results highlight the overall impact of the Flex Program, we’re especially proud to contribute as its largest provider of nutrition services and being a central partner to this work since day one. It’s deeply encouraging to see that our efforts are making a tangible, immediate difference in reducing emergency and hospitalization-related health care use.