Free From Market Raises $2.1M Seed Round for its Food is Medicine Platform to Treat Chronic Health Conditions

Free From Market (FFM), the first patient-driven digital platform that empowers lower income Americans living with chronic health conditions to order the diet-specific foods and support they need, announces today that it has closed a $2.1 million seed investment. The funding allows the company to enhance its proprietary technology platform and expand its service delivery model to provide affordable, inclusive access to the personalized foods, telenutrition and data necessary to improve health outcomes.

The funding round was led by Bluestein Ventures, and joined by Acumen America, Beta Boom, KCRise Fund, 1st Course Capital and AssetBlue Ventures. In addition, the company was a 2022 recipient of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.

This capital investment and support will also help FFM broaden its reach with managed care plans, providers, and community-based organizations to quantify the efficacy of “food is medicine” interventions for treating key health conditions. FFM provides bulk ordering for organizations and direct-to-door access to individuals who can shop meals, produce, or shelf-stable, brand-name grocery items, as well as complementary telenutrition support.

“Our new investors and partners, who bring expertise in food, supply chain, and digital health, provide us the opportunity to reach and impact more people. Every household, regardless of income or zip code, deserves access to high quality food and ongoing support that meet their specific healthcare needs,” said FFM Co-Founder and CEO Emily Brown.

“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. “We continue to be impressed by the team’s deep expertise and passion, both through lived experience and decades in the industry. FFM is the much-needed connective tissue, bringing together key stakeholders within food and healthcare industries to improve the health and wellness of our communities.”

“We agree with FFM’s thesis that payors and providers must have private industry partners to grow food benefits to scale. This is an innovative model, and this is the type of disruptive tech company that will create real change in public health,” said Ed Frindt, partner at KCRise.

Brown is a recognized thought leader in the “food is medicine” space as a board and council member of national organizations including the NIAID National Advisory Council and the Children’s Hospital Association’s Next Generation of Quality Steering Committee. In addition, she participated in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health last September.

“Emily’s lived experience on federal nutrition programs and inability to provide her family with the safe and healthy foods needed to treat their chronic conditions, drives our patient-focused company,” said Elise Bates, who co-founded FFM with Brown in 2021. “Together, we created a social impact-driven entity that can scale and attract the talent and resources needed to profitably improve health outcomes for millions while reducing the overall cost of care.”

Brown leads a passionate team that has deep backgrounds across community health, food distribution, healthcare, technology, and nutrition. An early addition to the leadership team, Chief Operating Officer Mark Jaffe previously the Vice President of Strategic Operations at Everytable, a mission-driven food service company, and worked in technology investment banking and venture capital.

“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.”