The only payment infrastructure built exclusively for food as medicine now supports a full spectrum of nutrition programs — with a seamless digital experience for cardholders
BOSTON, May 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fresh Connect, the payment infrastructure powering food as medicine, today announced its expansion from a single produce card to four specialized medically supportive grocery cards — paired with a new Companion App that gives cardholders instant clarity on what’s approved under their program. Together, these innovations reflect Fresh Connect’s continued investment in building the infrastructure needed for food as medicine, as demand reaches an inflection point nationwide.
Since its launch in 2020, Fresh Connect has enabled health plans, healthcare providers, and community partners to deliver access to $12.3M worth of healthy fruits and vegetables via a prepaid debit card for over 23,000 individuals in over 15 states.
With its expanded line of prepaid cards, Fresh Connect cardholders can now purchase a broader set of nutritious grocery items across all aisles while still meeting the nutrition criteria that make food prescriptions effective. Each card type is powered by a distinct Approved Product List (APL), a curated set of eligible items defined by specific nutrition criteria, ensuring every transaction supports better health outcomes. Each card’s APL was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary advisory committee bringing together registered dietitians, nutrition scientists, healthcare partners, and community-based organizations to ensure eligible items align with evidence-based nutrition guidelines and reflect the real-world needs of the populations these programs serve.
Fresh Connect now offers four distinct cards:
- Produce: Covers fresh produce only.
- Produce+: Expands access to both fresh and frozen produce without additives.
- Grocery: Provides access to items across most grocery categories that meet recommended nutrition standards.
- Grocery Rx: A medically tailored list of items across most grocery aisles, designed for people at risk of or living with diet-related disease, aligned with stricter nutrition standards.
“Determining which foods should be included in medically tailored food as medicine therapies requires scientific attention and clinical care. I’m excited to see these new options for food as medicine programs, which can be implemented and evaluated for their impact on health, well-being, and quality of life. It’s time for food to be prioritized in our health and health care systems,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, Director of the Food as Medicine Institute at Tufts University.
Fresh Connect has launched the new card types with a select group of existing customers, a critical phase to refine the offering and ensure the platform delivers on its promise of a dignified shopping experience, reflecting its continued commitment to food as medicine innovation that is scalable and flexible.
“This work is hard. It demands a true commitment to the principles of food as medicine and an equal commitment to ensuring every cardholder has a frictionless, joyful experience,” said Josh Trautwein, CEO of Fresh Connect. “We believe food is the foundation of a healthy and happy life, and expanding Fresh Connect into the full grocery store is how we make that real for more people.”
About Fresh Connect:
Fresh Connect is the payment infrastructure powering food as medicine. The company provides health plans, providers, and community partners with a medically tailored prepaid debit card backed by proprietary Approved Product Lists (APLs) and a technology platform — built to address food and nutrition insecurity and diet-related chronic diseases that drive healthcare costs. With acceptance at over 20,000 retailers nationwide and a mobile app built for cardholders, Fresh Connect makes it easy to deliver high-impact food prescription programs — cost-effectively and with dignity. Learn more at www.freshconnect.org
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