Grocery Delivery Program Helps Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol, BIDMC-Led Study Finds

DASH Diet-Based Grocery Delivery Lowers Blood Pressure Alongside Medication

BOSTON — A program that delivers heart-healthy groceries directly to people’s homes significantly lowered blood pressure among Black adults already being treated for hypertension, according to a new randomized clinical trial conducted by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). The findings, presented at the American College of Cardiology’s ACC.26 Scientific Session and published in Nature Medicine, suggest that food-based interventions may produce further benefits when used in conjunction with common blood pressure medications, according to the researchers.

“Despite widespread use of medications, blood pressure remains poorly controlled for millions of adults worldwide, and Black adults continue to experience the highest rates of uncontrolled hypertension in the United States,” said lead author Stephen P. Juraschek, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and nutrition at BIDMC. “Our findings underscore the need for solutions that go beyond medication and that can work in real-world settings, particularly in communities facing limited access to healthy food.”

The study, called GoFreshRx, found that participants who received weekly home deliveries of groceries consistent with the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet saw their systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) fall by an average of 7 mm Hg over three months. By comparison, participants who received monthly $500 grocery stipends to shop on their own saw an average drop of 2 mm Hg. That five-point difference is large enough to have real health consequences, according to the researchers. The grocery-delivery group also saw LDL cholesterol drop by an average of 7 mg/dL compared with the stipend group.

The benefits also proved long lasting. Blood pressure improvements held even after the grocery deliveries ended, suggesting that food-based interventions may help people maintain healthier habits over time.

The GoFreshRx trial focused on Black adults living in Boston neighborhoods with few grocery stores whose hypertension was being treated but not fully controlled (defined as a resting systolic blood pressure below 120 mm Hg). All participants were taking blood pressure medication at the start of the study.

About 58 percent of Black adults in the United States have hypertension, compared with 48 percent of the overall adult population.

From August 2022 to May 2025, researchers enrolled 176 adults (predominately women with an average age of 60) and randomly assigned them to one of two groups for 12 weeks. The intervention group received weekly home-delivered groceries consistent with the DASH diet, which emphasizes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins, and nuts and legumes, with limited saturated fat and salt. Participants could tailor selections to their preferences and family size, making the approach both structured and flexible. This group also received brief, practical counseling from a registered dietitian.

By comparison, the control group received three monthly $500 stipends to shop for groceries on their own, along with a pamphlet about the DASH diet.

Researchers tracked all participants’ blood pressure, cholesterol, body weight and dietary intake at baseline, at three months (the end of the intervention), and again at six months.

At three months, systolic blood pressure was an average of 5 mm Hg lower in the grocery-delivery group than in the control group. The grocery-delivery group also drove down diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) and LDL cholesterol, both risk factors for heart attack and stroke. Participants in that group also ate significantly less saturated fat.

Participants receiving DASH-patterned groceries also sharply improved their potassium-to-sodium ratio, a key dietary target for blood pressure control. Rather than focusing narrowly on cutting salt alone, the intervention emphasized eating foods naturally rich in potassium, including fruits, vegetables, beans and dairy.

“Notably, much of the blood-pressure benefit persisted even three months after grocery deliveries and counseling ended,” said Juraschek. “These findings suggest that medically tailored groceries could be a powerful complement to standard care. We’re meeting patients where they are — literally and figuratively.”

While the intervention cost about $212 per household per week, roughly $60 more than participants typically spent on groceries, researchers note that future programs could be more targeted and less expensive, as well as potentially reduce long-term healthcare costs associated with poorly controlled hypertension. The findings point toward a role for health insurers, public health programs and urban planners in funding and scaling similar interventions alongside standard medical care.

The GoFresh team is now expanding the model beyond Boston through GoFresh Southeast, launching collaborations through GoFreshWorld, and exploring digital tools to streamline ordering and delivery.

Co-authors include Hannah Col; Kayla Ferro; Ruth-Alma N. Turkson-Ocran; Jennifer L. Cluett; Roger B. Davis; Kristen M. Kraemer; Kenneth J. Mukamal; Emily Laura Aidoo; Fredrick Larbi Kwapong; Marian Budu; Dhrumil Patil; Sarah Nartey; Jacqueline Michetti; Sofia Allison; Manfred Mate-Kole; Jingyi Cao; Benjamin Grobman; and Reva Seager (BIDMC); Kathy McManus (Brigham and Women’s Hospital); Anika L. Hines (Virginia Commonwealth University School of Public Health); Edgar R. Miller III and Deidra C. Crews (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine); Dea Papajorgji-Taylor (Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research); and Stephanie L. Fitzpatrick (Northwell).

This work was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (grant R01MD016068) and by Harvard Catalyst, the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (award UM1TR004408), with additional financial contributions from Harvard University and its affiliated academic healthcare centers. Funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation or publication decisions.

Disclosures: In addition to the study funding listed above, Stephen P. Juraschek reports support from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. Deidra C. Crews reports support from the National Institutes of Health and Somatus. Ruth-Alma N. Turkson-Ocran reports support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grant 3R01HL158622-01S1).

About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a leading academic medical center, where extraordinary care is supported by high-quality education and research. BIDMC is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a healthcare system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.