SmartChoice Food is Medicine Software for Food Pantries
SmartChoice now has a Food is Medicine version of its software specifically designed for food pantries and medical professionals with Food is Medicine programs, as well as Medicaid 1115 Waiver demonstrations such as Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) programs and Social Care Networks (SCNs). The Food is Medicine edition of SmartChoice has a specially designed client choice-based shopping interface for Food is Medicine food pantry clients to shop online for medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions.
Clients can be easily enrolled in the Food is Medicine or Medicaid 1115 Waiver demonstration program by the participating food pantry or by their doctor, and immediately begin shopping for food according to the Food is Medicine prescription they received - and the choice of which particular foods they desire according to their own individual tastes. This client choice-based shopping for their medically tailored meals and in fulfillment of their produce prescriptions can be done via an onsite touchscreen kiosk at the doctor’s office or at the food pantry, as well as from their smartphones, computers, or other internet-enabled devices.
Image of a Food is Medicine client shopping kiosk located on-site at a doctor's office or food pantry
Nutritional Rating Scores and Nutrition-based Stoplights
In addition to only showing food items that fall within each client’s Food is Medicine prescription plan, food items are also scored on a 1-to-100 nutritional rating score, from least nutritious to most nutritious, and ranked accordingly in the shopping interface, along with corresponding green/yellow/red nutrition-based stoplights to provide visual aid and gentle intervention in client food selection (see screenshot below).
Dietary Indicators
Furthermore, dietary indicator icons, as shown in the screenshot below, also serve to visually identify foods along specific parameters, such as low-sodium, sugar-free, vegetarian, vegan, low cholesterol, gluten-free, and dairy-free. In addition to the already pre-screened food selections per their Food is Medicine prescription and nutritional plan, clients can search and further filter results according to these additional nutritional designations, as well as for presence of specific allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, gluten, soybeans).
Nutritional Nudges and Interventions
Another special healthy choice feature available with the Food is Medicine version of SmartChoice, is our Healthy Swap functionality. A food pantry or doctor’s office electing to enable this functionality within their SmartChoice software can designate certain food panty items to trigger “healthier option” suggestions to their clients while shopping for food. For example, if a Food is Medicine client selects white rice to add to their virtual shopping basket, the Healthy Swap functionality would trigger a message to the shopper asking if they’d rather select brown rice, a healthier option, and display to the shopper the nutritional benefits (and potential points savings, if any) of making that switch. These nutritional nudges and gentle interventions not only offer healthier options to Food is Medicine clients, but also educate them, in real time, as to the many options that exist for similar types of food products that offer better nutritional value for them and their families.
Schedule a Demo
For more information and/or to view a live demo of the Food is Medicine version of SmartChoice Food Pantry Software and all of its functionality specifically configured to the operational administration and technology-enhancement of Food is Medicine programs contact a SmartChoice representative now.