Free From Market (FFM), a digital platform that helps lower-income Americans with chronic health conditions access personalized diet-specific foods and support, has closed a seed investment round of $2.1 million.
The funding will be used to improve the platform’s technology and expand the service to provide affordable, accessible solutions for improving health outcomes. The funding round was led by Bluestein Ventures and supported by Acumen America, Beta Boom, KCRise Fund, 1st Course Capital, AssetBlue Ventures and Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three Americans have a chronic health condition that can be managed through food. However, many Americans do not have access to the necessary resources and support.
Free From Market addresses this issue by offering bulk ordering for organizations and direct-to-door access for individuals to purchase diet-specific meals, produce and grocery items, along with telenutrition support. The platform also measures health outcomes for users with chronic conditions where food is the standard of care.
Emily Brown, Free From Market’s Co-Founder and CEO, is a recognized thought leader in the “food is medicine” space, serving on the NIAID National Advisory Council and the Children’s Hospital Association’s Next Generation of Quality Steering Committee. She is also a participant in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Brown and co-founder Elise Bates created FFM with a mission to help all Americans manage their health through food, regardless of income or location.
FFM’s leadership team, which includes Chief Operating Officer Mark Jaffe, has extensive backgrounds in community health, food distribution, healthcare, technology, and nutrition. “Food has a powerful ability to heal our bodies, and we’re thrilled to support FFM as they build the future in the ‘food is medicine’ space,” said Andrew Bluestein, Managing Partner of Bluestein Ventures. Ed Frindt, Partner at KCRise, added, “This is an innovative model, and this is the type of disruptive tech company that will create real change in public health.”
“One in three Americans has a condition where food is part of the standard of care, yet many Americans do not have access to food and resources needed to treat it,” said Brown. “Our curated food is free from ingredients an individual does not want, and full of all the nutrients they need to manage a healthy life. This funding round is merely one milestone towards our goal to make a lasting impact to improve healthcare in this country and center health equity.”