Steadier blood sugar
Meals with carbohydrates kept consistent from day to day, so they are easier to plan around medication and meals are not a guessing game.
Social Care Network · New York Medicaid
Your Medicaid can help with more than doctor visits — starting with food.
New York’s Social Care Network lets eligible Medicaid members get help with everyday needs that affect their health. Through it, MBD Care delivers meals and grocery boxes at no cost to you across Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, and can also arrange housing support, kitchen equipment and rides to appointments.
This is a Medicaid benefit, not a food pantry or a charity programme. It does not replace SNAP, WIC or any other benefit you already get.
How it works
What the Social Care Network is
A way for Medicaid to pay for the things outside the clinic that shape your health.
Under New York’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver, the state set up regional Social Care Networks. Each one is led by an organization that screens Medicaid members for health-related social needs — food, housing, transportation — and connects them with community providers who can help.
In our region the lead entity is Public Health Solutions. MBD Care is one of its contracted providers. We are also contracted with SOMOS. That is why there is nothing for you to pay and no separate application: the service comes through the Medicaid coverage you already have.
Not every member qualifies for every service. Eligibility depends on your coverage, where you live and your health needs, and it is confirmed through a short screening and an assessment that we arrange for you.
Food as part of your care
The right food can make a health condition easier to manage
Doctors can prescribe medication, but what you eat every day matters just as much for many conditions. When healthy food is hard to afford, cook or get to, the Social Care Network can bring it to your door.
Less salt, without bland food
Lower-sodium meals for heart conditions, and meals planned around the limits a kidney condition can bring.
Nourishment when it matters most
Balanced food during pregnancy, and for children who are at nutritional risk, with other people in the home enrolled too when they need it.
Pregnancy & postpartum →What MBD Care provides
Food first, and help with what surrounds it
Every food plan is set by a registered dietitian after an assessment with you. If you need more than food, ask — the other supports are part of the same benefit.
Medically tailored meals
Fully prepared meals built around a diagnosis — carbohydrate-controlled, lower-sodium, or softer textures where chewing or swallowing is hard.
See how ready-made meals work →Clinically appropriate meals
Prepared, balanced meals for households that need consistent food but not a condition-specific plan.
See how ready-made meals work →Food prescription boxes
A weekly box with the ingredients for 21 balanced meals per person: fresh produce, protein, grains and pantry staples, with guidance from a registered dietitian.
See what’s inside a box →Housing support
Help finding stable housing and keeping it — applications, landlords and the right housing programmes.
Cooking supplies & appliances
Pots, pans and basic kitchen equipment, and essentials like a refrigerator or microwave where a home is missing one.
Transportation
Rides to medical and social care appointments, arranged alongside your other services.
Why families choose MBD Care
Planned by a dietitian, prepared the way you eat
Clinical, not generic
- Assessments and food plans by registered dietitians
- Clinical direction by Tatiana Kidanov-Shifrot, MS, RD, CDN, CDCES, our Clinical Director
- Every food plan starts with an assessment of your health needs
- Meals matched to the condition, not one menu for everyone
Made for your household
- Halal and kosher certified — close to half of the meals we arrange are halal or kosher
- A team that speaks English, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek and Hebrew
- Everyone in the home who needs food can be enrolled, with one team to call
- Delivery across Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan
Eligibility
Who can get this, and how it starts
You may qualify if you
- Have active New York Medicaid, in a Medicaid health plan (no plan yet?)
- Live in Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan (in the Bronx, we help connect you with services through the SOMOS network)
- Have a qualifying health need, such as diabetes, heart or kidney disease, pregnancy, or a child at nutritional risk. Other conditions, and frequent emergency room visits or hospital stays, can qualify with a doctor’s attestation. We provide the paperwork.
- Complete a screening and assessment, which we arrange
What you will not need
- Any payment, co-pay or application fee
- A separate application form
- To give up SNAP, WIC or other benefits
- To speak English — we will call in your language
On Medicaid but no health plan yet?
That is called Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS). For many people it is only a starting point. Food and the other supports on this site are for members of a Medicaid health plan. Most people with New York Medicaid must join one, and it is free. If you get a letter asking you to choose and you don’t, a plan will be chosen for you, so it is better to choose yourself.
- Call to choose a plan. New York Medicaid Choice: 1-800-505-5678. Is your Medicaid case with NY State of Health? Call 1-855-355-5777 or use your online account.
- Wait for your plan to start. It usually starts on the 1st of a month, a few weeks after you choose. Until then, use your state card, and keep it after your plan starts too: you need it at the pharmacy.
- Call us when it starts. 718-737-2252. We will screen you and check what you can get.
Any regular Medicaid health plan works, including HARP, and MBD Care does not choose a plan for you. Have Medicare, other full health insurance, emergency-only Medicaid, or a spenddown (you pay part of your medical bills each month)? The rules are different, so call us and we will check.
Step-by-step guide →Condition not on the list? You may still qualify.
Other health conditions can qualify, and so can people who use Medicaid services often, such as frequent emergency room visits or hospital stays. These usually need a short attestation from your doctor. We provide the attestation paperwork for your doctor to sign.
How qualifying with a doctor’s attestation works →1
Reach out
Call us, email, or fill in our short eligibility form. A care manager can also refer you.
2
Quick screening
A short phone call about your needs, unless another organization has already done it.
3
Dietitian assessment
We talk through your health, your household and how you eat, and choose the right food programme.
4
Delivery begins
We set a delivery schedule with you, and you have one team to call if anything changes.
Questions
Common questions about the Social Care Network
What is a Social Care Network?
It is part of New York's 1115 Medicaid Waiver. Each region has a lead organization that connects Medicaid members with community providers for needs that affect health, such as food, housing and transportation. In our region the lead entity is Public Health Solutions. MBD Care is contracted with Public Health Solutions and with SOMOS.
Does it cost anything, or affect my other benefits?
No. Services arranged through the Social Care Network are covered by your Medicaid, with no bill, no co-pay and no application fee. They do not reduce or replace SNAP, WIC or any other benefit you already receive.
I have Medicaid but no health plan (fee-for-service). Can I get this?
Not while you are on fee-for-service (FFS), but for many people FFS is only a starting point. Most people with New York Medicaid must join a health plan, and if you don't choose one after the state asks you to, one will be chosen for you. To choose your own plan for free, call New York Medicaid Choice at 1-800-505-5678, or NY State of Health at 1-855-355-5777 if your Medicaid case is with NY State of Health. The plan usually starts on the 1st of a month, a few weeks after you choose. Once it starts, call us and we will screen you and check what you can get. Any regular Medicaid health plan works, including HARP. People with Medicare, other full health insurance, emergency-only Medicaid or a spenddown have different rules, so call us and we will check.
I have Medicare too, or a long-term care plan (MLTC or MAP). Do I qualify?
Members of long-term care plans (MLTC and MAP) cannot get food through this program, because their plan can provide meals as a benefit (ask your plan). They may qualify for other supports, such as housing support or transportation, after a screening. If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, it depends on how your Medicaid is set up: for some people it is fee-for-service, and some are in a plan that also covers Medicaid. Call us and we will check.
My condition is not listed. Can I still qualify?
Possibly. Other health conditions can qualify, and so can members who use Medicaid services often, such as frequent emergency room visits or hospital stays. These usually need a short attestation from your doctor, and we provide the attestation paperwork for your doctor to sign.
Can other people in my household get food too?
Yes. When each person has their own Medicaid, we usually enroll each one individually, so everyone gets food that fits their own health needs. Where that does not fit, we can set the household up together.
Do you have halal and kosher meals?
Yes. Halal meals are certified by the American Halal Foundation and kosher meals come from kitchens under rabbinical supervision. Close to half of the meals we arrange are halal or kosher, and certificates are available on request.
Do you serve the Bronx?
MBD Care is contracted with SOMOS, which serves members across the Bronx. If you live in the Bronx, call us and we will help connect you with the right services.
What languages do you speak?
English, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek and Hebrew. Tell us which you prefer and someone who speaks it will call you.
How do I start?
Call 718-737-2252, email info@mbd.care, or leave your details on our short form and we will call you back. If a care manager is already helping you, they can also send us a referral.
How soon does food arrive?
Usually within two weeks of first reaching out. Once your nutrition assessment is done, your first delivery arrives within a week, and sometimes as soon as the next day.
More questions? See our Medicaid food benefits Q&A. Programme rules can change; for official information see the New York State Department of Health.
Ready when you are
Find out in one phone call
We check your eligibility with you, explain what you can receive, and handle the paperwork.
Or email info@mbd.care · Care managers: how to refer