Humana Foundation Awards $15.2M in Grants to Support Emotional Health and Nutrition Programming and Research

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc. for the past 43 years, today announced grants for 2024 in service of the Foundation’s health equity mission. The investment, totaling $15.2 million, spans the Foundation’s focus geographies – Kentucky, Florida, Louisiana and Texas – and provides support to seniors and school-aged children in living connected, healthy lives.

Older Adult Technology Services (OATS) will receive $2.5 million through the Humana Foundation Health Equity Innovation Fund to develop an in-person and online experience to educate audiences on the difficulties seniors and their caregivers face in recognizing and addressing social isolation and loneliness. Three additional grants from the Health Equity Fund in the amount of $750,000 each will support: Well-Being and Health Equity In the World Institute in developing a framework to support equitable grantmaking in health equity; Bread for the World in researching the impact of the racial wealth gap on how people engage with food systems; and the United for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Project founded by United Way of Northern New Jersey in identifying mental health provider shortages in Kentucky.

“Social isolation is a hidden crisis for older adults, and technology can help older adults and caregivers recognize the signs and find solutions to overcome loneliness,” said Tom Kamber, executive director of OATS from AARP, “This commitment from the Humana Foundation offers a major investment in creating practical tools that will have wide application in reconnecting older adults to social and community networks.”

Research grants totaling over $2 million were awarded to seven different universities. Led by diverse researchers, four research teams will investigate the effectiveness of interventions in shaping a healthier approach to nutrition, and three will study the emotional health of seniors and school-aged children.

• Tulane University (Principal Investigator: Lu Qi, MD, PhD) – To test a culinary education intervention to improve cardiometabolic and emotional health outcomes among diverse seniors.
• University of South Florida (PI: Khary Rigg, PhD) – To adapt and test a nutrition education intervention for lower resource seniors with behavioral health conditions.
• University of Virginia (PI: Kelley M. Anderson, PhD, MSN, RN) – To assess a comprehensive food pharmacy program for rural seniors with cardiovascular conditions.
• University of Kentucky (PI: Alison Gustafson, PhD, MPH, RD) – To test a family level nutrition security intervention among lower resource families with nutrition-related conditions.
• Indiana University Bloomington (PI: Anna S. Mueller, PhD) – To better connect school staff and marginalized students for suicide prevention.
• Indiana University Indianapolis (PI: Silvia M. Bigatti, PhD) – To test a culture and family-centered program to promote emotional health among Latinx youth.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PI: Erin Kent, PhD) – To test a supportive intervention for caregivers of diverse senior patients with cancer and diabetes.

“The Humana Foundation is committed to collaborating with partners that make positive impacts toward helping seniors and school-aged children reach their full health potential,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “This year, we’re continuing to invest in partnerships with trusted organizations and institutions that are approaching these complex issues with innovative programs and solutions to help drive change and advance health equity.”

Grants awarded in Kentucky include $3 million to longtime partner Volunteers of America for its Mid-States partnership with the Louisville Metro Government to build a Community Care Campus where unhoused individuals can access family shelter, affordable housing and health support. Adventurous Minds Produce Extraordinary Dreams (AMPED) received $500,000 to scale the social and emotional well-being policies and practices within their youth programs.

In Louisiana, Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana received $240,000 to continue to deliver nutritious food to seniors, building on $575,000 in previous grants. Florida nonprofits Pine Castle Inc. and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Hillsborough received additional funding to enhance isolation-preventing initiatives for seniors with intellectual needs and support underserved populations with Mental Health First Aid trainings, respectively. The Education Fund Inc. was awarded a $600,000 grant to address mental health and nutrition barriers to equitable health for children.

The Foundation’s grants in Texas will address mental health challenges among school-aged children. Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute will build a coalition of community- and school-based clinicians to provide evidence-based care to traumatized or bereaved youth in Greater Houston, and Chosen Care Inc. will promote healing among older youth in foster care in Houston and San Antonio.

Additional 2024 grants include:

Kentucky

• Armed Services YMCA of the USA – For their afterschool program for military children
• Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana – To create and maintain a youth mental health center
• Friendship Bench – To determine the feasibility of implementing the Friendship Bench mental health program in Louisville

Florida

• 2nd Mile Ministries – For a program to prevent senior isolation through virtual socialization
• Gilda’s Club of South Florida Inc. – To support cancer patients, family members and caregivers
• Human Services Network Inc. – For Meals on Wheels service to homebound seniors
• Northeast Florida Area Agency on Aging – To provide family caregivers with free respite services
• Saving Our Seniors Inc. – To deliver fresh food and host pop-up markets across Central Florida
• Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay Inc. – For volunteer companionship for seniors and veterans
• The Promise Fund of Florida Inc. – To enroll seniors in food delivery and cooking programs
• Village South Inc. - To teach proven ways to deal with adverse life experiences proven ways to deal with adverse life experiences
• Lola & Saul Kramer Senior Services Agency Inc. - To provide Adult Day Care Program for seniors who do not qualify for Florida’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly

Louisiana

• Friendship Bench – To determine the feasibility of implementing the Friendship Bench mental health program in New Orleans
• Southwestern Louisiana Area Health Education Center Foundation – For a project empowering underserved youth to become wellness advocates in their communities

Texas

• Spring Branch Community Health Center – For a mental health center in at least one area high school with a high population of children struggling with mental health

To learn more about the Humana Foundation’s health equity mission, visit HumanaFoundation.org.

About the Humana Foundation

The Humana Foundation was established in 1981 as the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc. and is focused on health equity, working to eliminate unjust, avoidable and unnecessary barriers in health and healthcare. The Foundation fosters evidence-based collaborations and investments that help people in underserved communities live connected, healthy lives. As a steward of good health, the Foundation creates healthy emotional connections for people and communities and is shaping a healthier approach to nutrition to support lifelong well-being. For more information, visit humanafoundation.org.