Your Path to Simple,
Healthy Eating
Food Leads empowers our Columbus, Ohio community to manage and prevent Type 2 Diabetes with dignity and confidence
Type 2 diabetes is preventable, yet over 1 million Ohioans live with this disease. By uniting food access and nutrition education, Food Leads empowers our community to manage and prevent type 2 diabetes with dignity and confidence.
Access to nourishing food alone isn’t enough. We combine food access with the skills and confidence to turn into a tool for health.
Food Leads bridges the gap between food access and healthcare by designing and delivering evidence-based nutrition and food distribution models that improve health outcomes and strengthen local food systems.
Our partnerships with hospitals, farmers, and community organizations have demonstrated that when food access is integrated into healthcare and local economies, families thrive — and funders can see measurable results.
2025 Program Outcomes
Quality Rating: 4.5/5 average across all participants
Recipe Options: 4.3/5 average satisfaction
Cultural Relevance: 88% of participants found recipes culturally relevant
Delivery Service: 4.5/5 average rating with consistent cold chain maintenance
These ratings are derived from a survey filled out by Food Leads
2025 Meal Kit Participants
2025 Meal Kit Participant
"Loved those. Prefer them and would enjoy more of those. They seem to be fresher than other produce boxes."
2025 Meal Kit Participant
"I am eating more fresh produce as a result of exposure to foods/recipes in the meal kits.”
2025 Meal Kit Participant
"My (or family member's) diabetes has improved as a result of what I have learned from the meal kits."
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Diabetic-Friendly Meal Kits
Food Leads is the only Central Ohio non-profit that delivers free, diabetic-friendly meal kits with fresh, diverse ingredients.
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Nutrition Workshops
We host interactive nutrition workshops and cooking demonstrations to equip people with the knowledge to find a more nourishing relationship with food.
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Corporate Partnerships
If your company is interested in supporting food equity and improving the health of our Columbus neighbors, please consider becoming a corporate partner of Food Leads.
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Near East Cafe
In partnership with Too Good Eats, Food Leads runs the Near East Cafe, a cafe and catering venture that improves access to healthy food for the Near East neighborhood.
Investing in Health that Spans Generations
At Food Leads, we build health for the whole family. Our mission is deeply personal, and we believe every investment in nourishing food is an investment in strong, thriving generations to come.
Christina Allen founded Food Leads in 2021 from a deeply personal place. She grew up watching people she loved—especially her dad—struggle with Type 2 diabetes. When she learned just how disproportionately this disease impacts Black families, the statistics stopped feeling like numbers and started feeling like neighbors, aunties, uncles, and friends.
Food Leads was created for community—rooted in culture, family, and the belief that everyone deserves simple, joyful access to healthier food. It exists to make managing diabetes a little less overwhelming and to make wellness feel possible for Columbus families.Pictured: Christina Allen and her dad, George Allen.