Houston Food Bank to use Cruise autonomous vehicles to make deliveries to expectant moms

New technology supports “food prescription” program to help address maternal health and food insecurity

HOUSTON … Houston Food Bank, in collaboration with autonomous vehicle (AV) company Cruise, has launched a program to deliver produce and non-perishables to new and expectant mothers facing food insecurity. 

These deliveries are part of Houston Food Bank’s Food Rx program and specifically serves high-risk and expectant mothers in collaboration with Community Health Choice and UT Public Health. For the program, Cruise will deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) with safety drivers to deliver packages of produce and non-perishables to new and expectant mothers facing food insecurity. The pilot program plans to make 180 individual deliveries which is estimated to provide 6,000 meals to moms across Houston.

This program will also assess the impact of a comprehensive food prescription. While enrolled in Food Rx, neighbors receive food items tailored to their underlying health condition when referred by a designated Healthcare Partner or when they commit to a Community Health Program that improves their health and well-being. Food Rx works to improve consistent access to healthy food and provide nutrition education, helping individuals better manage their health while lowering the financial stress of household grocery costs, which can result in improved health outcomes and decreased food insecurity. 

“While food prescription programs that improve access to healthy food alongside nutrition education have been gaining popularity nationwide as a feasible, acceptable and effective model to improve health outcomes in food-insecure populations, to date no studies have been conducted to evaluate their impact on outcomes among pregnant women,” says Brian Greene, president/CEO of Houston Food Bank. “This innovative program will be very insightful and impactful, and partnership with Cruise allows us to leverage new technology to support at-risk new and expectant mothers with essential food packages delivered right to their doorstep, ensuring they have what they need to care for their families.”

Food insecurity, which affects 1 million Houstonians, has a particularly detrimental impact for women during pregnancy. Research has shown that food insecurity during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of low birth weight, certain birth defects, excess weight gain, gestational diabetes and other pregnancy complications. Moreover, women who are food-insecure enter the pregnancy at greater risk than women who are food-secure. 

Because food access is a critical challenge in Houston, particularly for those without reliable transportation, this partnership with Cruise allows Houston Food Bank to leverage new technology to support at-risk new and expectant mothers with essential food packages delivered right to their doorstep, ensuring they have what they need to care for their families. As the food bank looks for new ways to innovate, this collaboration exemplifies how partnership and technology can make a real difference.

“As someone who’s called Houston home for most of my life, it’s so meaningful for me to be able to leverage innovative technology to serve people in my community who need it the most,” said Sola Lawal, Cruise General Manager of Houston. “We are looking forward to partnering with the Houston Food Bank to help address food insecurity which affects 1 million Houstonians.”

The support of Cruise is important because it helps drive home – literally and figuratively – the importance of nutrition to expectant mothers at a critical time. 

Cruise will be assisting with this program for three months in the following ZIP codes: 77045, 77085, 77096, 77047, 77053, 77071, 77489, 77007, 77008, 77024, 77055, 77056, 77057, 77063, 77080, 77081, 77401, 77011, 77012, 77023, 77066, 77009, 77020, 77026 and 77035. 

For more information on Houston Food Bank and its programs, please visit www.HoustonFoodBank.org. 

About Cruise and Cruise for Good

Cruise aims to improve safety for all road users. In service of its vision for safer roadways, Cruise’s aspiration is to build the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people with the places, things, and experiences they care about. As of June 2024, Cruise operates supervised autonomous driving in Phoenix, AZ, Houston and Dallas, TX, in addition to its ongoing testing in Dubai. Majority owned by General Motors since 2016, Cruise combines a culture of innovative technology and safety with a history of manufacturing and automotive excellence. Cruise has received funding from other leading companies and investors—including Honda, Microsoft, T. Rowe Price, and Walmart.

Cruise for Good, its dedicated social impact initiative, started four years ago and has delivered 2.6 million meals by delivering meals to home-bound individuals experiencing food insecurity in partnership with San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and other local nonprofits. We are committed to finding innovative ways to serve every community where we operate. 

About Houston Food Bank

Serving Houston and southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to 120 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools. Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and racial equity, and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston County, Brazos Valley, and Trinity River area. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 12th consecutive year. 

Website: houstonfoodbank.org/about-us/milestones/, Social media: Instagram, X, Facebook