Epicured’s Big Leap Toward Food-First Healthcare
StartUp Health community member Rich Bennett, CEO & Co-founder of Epicured, shares how his company is scaling medically tailored meals through Medicaid and beyond – advancing a vision of nutrition-first, whole-person care.
“Food as Medicine” may have started as a buzzword, but today it’s become a blueprint for reshaping healthcare from the inside out. In this Health Moonshot Update, we caught up with Rich Bennett, CEO & Co-founder of Epicured, to learn how his team is putting that vision into action – and why their latest partnerships are a milestone not just for the company, but for the entire movement.
For nearly a decade, Epicured has been building a powerful, vertically integrated platform for delivering medically tailored meals to people with chronic conditions. What began as a direct-to-consumer brand focused on digestive disorders like Crohn’s and colitis has evolved into a comprehensive clinical nutrition company – one that now supports diabetes, renal disease, cardiovascular health, maternal health, and food insecurity across diverse populations.
But Bennett says Epicured’s latest chapter is its most transformative yet.
Bringing Food as Medicine to Medicaid
At the heart of Epicured’s new direction is a series of game-changing Medicaid contracts in New York State. Through these agreements, the company is now delivering 21 medically tailored meals per week – plus registered dietitian counseling, pantry and produce boxes, and culturally aligned menus – to patients who may have never had access to this level of care before.
“This is the most longitudinal nutrition intervention CMS has ever implemented,” says Bennett, referencing the structure that allows patients to be covered for up to 18 months. “We’re finally seeing nutrition recognized as a reimbursable part of the healthcare system.”
The Medicaid rollout, supported by New York’s Section 1115 waiver and health equity reform initiatives, focuses on populations at high risk of hospitalization and chronic disease. Epicured’s tailored offerings – which include meals designed for diabetes, renal conditions, and even maternity – are prescribed based on clinical and social assessments. And the results, Bennett says, speak for themselves.
“The average emergency department visit costs around $30,000. For that same amount, we can provide 21 meals a week for two years,” he explains. “It’s a powerful return on investment – financially and in human outcomes.”
Scaling Healing Food – With Purpose
Unlike many in the food-as-medicine space, Epicured owns its production process end-to-end. The company built its own “healing food” facility in an opportunity zone, where it now employs more than 70 people from the local community. This vertical integration allows Epicured to maintain control over quality, scale rapidly, and even partner with other organizations looking for high-quality food production aligned with clinical and cultural standards.
“We could 10x our output today without needing another facility,” says Bennett. “And we’re already working with other providers who don’t make their own food but want to deliver the same level of care.”
The company’s growth is accelerating, with meal volume growing 20% week over week, and produce box services growing even faster. New menu lines are also in the works, including culturally specific dishes – like Liberian and Puerto Rican meals – and a soon-to-be-launched clinical weight management program aligned with the GLP-1 revolution.
One Standard of Care – For Everyone
Whether serving a Medicaid patient or a self-pay customer, Epicured operates on a core belief: everyone deserves the same standard of care. That means the same food, the same quality, and the same support – regardless of income or insurance status.
And while the Medicaid partnerships are expanding access to vulnerable populations, Epicured is also rolling out tools to help broader audiences connect with their services. That includes expanding condition-specific menus to self-pay customers, offering HSA/FSA eligibility, and exploring partnerships with Medicare Advantage plans and employer benefit programs.
“We’re not just delivering meals,” says Bennett. “We’re building relationships, trust, and a new model for whole-person care.”
A Movement Fueled by Community
As a founding member of StartUp Health’s Food as Medicine Health Moonshot Community, Bennett is committed to collaboration. He credits much of Epicured’s progress to a shared ecosystem of innovators, researchers, and decision makers who have worked for years to elevate food’s role in healthcare.
“No one company can meet this need alone,” he says. “That’s why we’re focused on building a big tent – working with partners, policymakers, and fellow entrepreneurs to grow this movement together.”
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Published: Oct 27, 2025
Produced by Nicole Kinsey
