Merrilee Logue, executive director for the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the Food Is Medicine movement and what it means for the 18 million union members covered through Blue Cross Blue Shield companies.
Logue outlined the updated USDA dietary guidelines that place greater emphasis on protein, healthy fats and minimally processed foods and addressed the role of nutrition in managing and preventing chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She also described a range of programs now available through insurance carriers and union fund offices — from registered dietitians and medically tailored meals to produce prescription programs, where providers can literally prescribe fruits and vegetables as part of a treatment plan.
Logue also connected nutrition to mental health, noting the American Psychiatric Association’s recognition of the link between diet and mental well-being. All these topics relate to Blue Cross Blue Shield’s ongoing investment of millions of dollars in nutrition programs, local food banks, mobile pantries and educational programs in every zip code across the country.
Merrilee Logue has spent more than 30 years working with unions on health and benefits, beginning her career as a teacher before joining Blue Cross Blue Shield. Her message on Food Is Medicine is both old and new. Old, in that the connection between diet and health has been understood for generations. New, in that the policy, clinical and insurance infrastructure around it is finally beginning to catch up.
The starting point is the updated USDA dietary guidelines released this year. The new guidelines shift the food pyramid's emphasis toward protein at every meal and snack, healthy fats, minimally processed whole grains, fruits and vegetables and fiber. They move away from overconsuming simple carbohydrates, excessive sugar and foods loaded with preservatives, additives and artificial coloring. Logue said her mother's advice still holds: shop the perimeter of the grocery store, not the interior aisles.
She was careful to note that she is not a clinician, but is sharing evidence-based guidelines. She was also careful about the scope of the claim. Nutrition does not replace medication, she stressed. What it can do is set the foundation for the healthiest life possible and create the conditions in which medication works most effectively. For someone with a predisposition to diabetes, for example, what they eat can directly influence whether and how severely the condition develops.
Logue addressed two specific elements of the updated guidelines that tend to generate conversation. Protein is being prioritized at every meal and snack rather than treated as a secondary consideration. Dairy, which had been treated with increasing skepticism in popular nutrition advice for years, is being rehabilitated as a valuable protein source.
That does not mean carbohydrates are the enemy or that bread is off the table. It means the emphasis shifts toward minimally processed, lower-sugar versions. The Mediterranean diet — which builds on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, healthy fats and quality protein — is a practical model that reflects the updated guidelines and one that many physicians are now recommending to patients. Logue also noted the social and community dimensions of food: cuisine is a form of connection. The goal is not rigidity but a strong, habitual nutritional foundation.
Logue described a transformation she has watched happen across union health and welfare funds over the past decade. Ten years ago, she walked into a fund office in New Jersey and asked about their wellness program. The response they cited was to take away the picnic table where members used to smoke. That, she said, was not a wellness program.
What she sees today is different. Union fund offices are hiring registered dietitians and nutritionists or providing virtual access to them. Some have set up food pantries to give members better access to healthy food. Some have arranged for healthier food truck options on job sites. Some have created refrigeration space so members working shifts can store fresh produce. Some have built-in break time specifically designed to allow workers to eat calmly and hydrate properly.
She noted that union workers face specific nutritional challenges that are not faced by office workers with flexible schedules. Shift work, structured eating times that may not align with hunger, physically demanding and high-stress jobs and — in some locations — access to clean drinking water are all real barriers. Some union members, she said, are actually undernourished despite working full time, because healthy food is not available to them when and where they need it.
Logue said the union member population served by Blue Cross Blue Shield skews older than many other client groups, which means chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease are more prevalent, and the impact caused by poor nutrition is especially high. For these members, nutrition is not a nice-to-have; it is a clinical priority.
The programs now available through many union insurance plans go beyond nutrition counseling. Medically tailored meals — designed around a specific member's diagnosis or chronic condition — are increasingly available. Prescription programs, through which healthcare providers can literally prescribe fruits and vegetables as part of a treatment plan, are an emerging and evidence-supported tool. Logue described these as both old-school and innovative.
Logue brought the conversation to a topic she and AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc have addressed in previous episodes: mental health. The American Psychiatric Association has identified a significant connection between nutrition and overall mental health wellbeing. Blue Cross Blue Shield's investment in food and nutrition goes beyond physical health outcomes, Logue said. It is about the whole person, and the evidence that diet affects mental health as well as physical health makes a nutritional investment more urgent and more promising in its potential returns.
Logue said Blue Cross Blue Shield is investing millions of dollars in nutrition programs, food banks, mobile pantries and educational initiatives across the country. She promised there would be more to share in future conversations. The commitment, she said, reflects recognition that addressing nutrition through community-level infrastructure is one of the most significant actions an insurer covering 18 million union members can take to improve health outcomes and reduce long-term costs for members and funds alike.
She concluded her conversation with a message to union members: know your numbers. Get your blood work done. Find out what specifically your body needs. Then use the tools available through your insurance plan and through your union fund office to build nutrition into your daily routine. It’s best to do this before you are hungry, before you are making choices under pressure, and long before a chronic condition becomes a crisis.
More information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office is available at bcbs.com/national-labor-office-unions.
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