Those living with HIV in Indiana who meet certain income requirements will now have access to Ryan’s Meals for Life, a meal-delivery program nutritionally tailored to their needs.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) provided a $1 million grant to Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana through a federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program supplemental award, reports TriStateHomepage.com.

“This funding has allowed ISDH to be more innovative in its continued work to enhance the lives of those who are living with HIV,” said HIV/STD/Hepatitis Division director Dennis Stover in the article. “This groundbreaking program is something we’ve not had in Indiana before.”

More than 2,500 HIV-positive Hoosiers who meet the income level requirements can choose to receive medically tailored hot or frozen meals. In addition, those living outside the MOCWI delivery area can opt to have frozen meals shipped directly to them.

Clients will then be monitored to evaluate the program’s success and to ensure that their nutritional needs are being met.

“If you keep people nutritionally sustained, they’re going to do better with their medical treatment,” said Mark Schwering, Ryan White Part B program director for ISDH. “These clients need balanced meals.”

Those interested in signing up for the program can connect through 17 agencies at 23 locations in Indiana that offer HIV-related services.

In related news, Indiana has been making national HIV headlines in recent years, some good (an “HIV Is Not a Crime” program) and some not so good (under then-Governor Mike Pence, the state experienced an HIV and hepatitis C outbreak linked to injection drug use). For a collection of related articles, click #Indiana.

What’s more, Ryan White, the heroic boy with hemophilia who died of AIDS-related illness in 1990 and is the namesake of the federal Ryan White CARE Act, is from Indiana. For more, check out “The Importance of Remembering Ryan White.”