Our Meals
Our first ingredient is always love
Open Hand is proudly one of the largest community-based providers of medically tailored meals in the United States.
What is a medically tailored meal?
Medically tailored meals are delivered to individuals living with severe, complex and/or chronic illnesses through a referral from a medical professional or healthcare plan. Our medically tailored meals are tailored to our neighbors' medical needs by our team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) in an effort to improve health outcomes, lower cost of care, and increase patient satisfaction.
At Open Hand, we are committed to ongoing excellence in our service delivery, and are proudly accredited by the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC). This accreditation shows that we:
- Conduct regular assessment of our clients’ nutritional needs
- Customize every meal to align with specific medical conditions
- Adhere to food safety protocols, HIPAA protections, and clinical documentation standards
- Enact ongoing quality improvement measures
- Integrate volunteer support
- Abide by a client-centered model rooted in dignity and respect
We believe food is medicine, which is why medically tailored meals and nutrition education are at the heart of our mission delivery.
Our delicious, healthy meals are:
Our meals meet a variety of dietary needs.
All of our meals are heart healthy, diabetes friendly, and monitored by our team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. We have several menu types, but our most common is our Healthy Balance, which is appropriate for most of our clients, as it focuses on addressing multiple conditions of chronic disease. We also offer the following meals for those with additional dietary needs:
Vegetarian
Our vegetarian meals are flavorful and meet necessary macronutrient recommendations, as well as include necessary healthy fats and controlled carbohydrates.
Kidney-Friendly Meals
For those diagnosed with stage 5 kidney failure or end stage kidney disease and requires dialysis. Every meal meets or exceeds standards set by the National Kidney Foundation, and follows requirements for kidney health.
Mechanical Soft
Our mechanical soft meals are Level 6 on the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative. These meals are perfect for those with mild chewing and swallowing difficulties or those who struggle to chew tough meats.
We strive to improve nutrition access through a number of other offerings:
Shelf-stable foods and produce boxes that increase access to healthy ingredients.
Market Baskets are nutritionally balanced to include items needed to prepare up to 14 healthy meals per week. Includes fresh fruits and vegetables as well as non-perishables.
Nutritional supplements provide key nutrients for those with heightened/increased nutrient needs.
