Todd Graham is the president of Highmark Health Options.
In Delaware, too many of our neighbors struggle to access enough food — and, more importantly, enough nutritious food. Food insecurity isn’t just an economic issue. It’s a health issue, shaping outcomes long before someone walks into a doctor’s office.
The need is real. Feeding America estimates that 1 in 8 Delaware adults and 1 in 6 children face hunger. The reasons for food insecurity in the state are varied, and accurately measuring its benchmarks can be challenging. Nevertheless, there is general consensus among recent studies that Delaware’s overall cost of living is higher than the national average, and food costs play a role — forcing many families into impossible choices between paying bills and putting food on the table.
This challenge mirrors national trends. In 2023, nearly 48 million Americans experienced food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Behind these statistics are parents skipping meals, so children can eat; older adults stretching fixed incomes; and families trying to stay healthy, while navigating barriers that no clinical visit alone can solve.
This is why Highmark recently launched (un)Hungry, a multistate initiative designed to raise awareness and mobilize communities during a season when need often increases. A campaign that drives individuals to one resource, unhungry.org builds on years of work in Delaware to improve health by improving access to nutritious food. And, while the initiative spans several states, its purpose aligns directly with our mission here at home: strengthening communities by addressing the root causes of poor health.
Across our statewide footprint, Highmark employees are partnering with regional food banks, packing boxes for students and veterans, and supporting food drives in the communities where we live and work. A centerpiece of the campaign is a new animated short about children who rally their neighborhood to help a struggling family — a reminder that hunger is solved through connection, not isolation.
At Highmark Health Options Delaware, we see the impact of hunger every day. Our mission is to empower members and improve lives through better health — but that work is undermined when families do not have enough healthy food to support stability, recovery or chronic disease management. A hungry child cannot focus in school. A parent facing food insecurity cannot manage diabetes nor heart disease. Hunger makes every other health intervention less effective.
This is why we embrace the growing “food as medicine” movement — the understanding that nutrition plays a greater role in long-term health outcomes than nearly any clinical service. For too long, health care has treated food insecurity as a secondary issue. But, if we want to prevent illness and improve well-being, food must be one of the first interventions, not the last.
In Delaware, we bring this philosophy to life through our Highmark Health Options Health Equity Fund, which supports nonprofit and community-based organizations that break down barriers to healthy food. Our Health Equity Fund, in collaboration with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware’s BluePrints for the Community grant program, has contributed more than $125,000 to the Food Bank of Delaware and to Ready. Set. Food! — serving 2,000 households and distributing more than 200,000 pounds of food this year alone.
We also offer benefits that directly address members’ nutritional needs at pivotal moments. Our postpartum nutrition benefit provides 12 weeks of meals, fresh produce and essential supplies to new mothers during a period of heightened food insecurity. Members with diabetes and food insecurity receive 14 days of nutritious meals after hospitalization through our post-discharge meal delivery program, helping them recover and preventing potential readmissions. These services are paired with practical nutrition education to help members incorporate healthier food into their daily routines.
Solving hunger means cutting chronic disease off at the root. It means stronger families, lower health care costs and a healthier Delaware. Our (un)Hungry effort shows that, when communities come together, hunger becomes a problem we can — and will — solve.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
