NBA All-Star Chris Paul invests in Dallas-based ‘food is medicine’ company

A Dallas-based health food company just hired its newest, high profile investor: National Basketball Association All-Star Chris Paul.

The star of Phoenix Suns is the latest athlete to invest in Roots Food Group, which makes and sells medically tailored meals and health products for the treatment of chronic diseases. In June, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers invested in the company.

The company’s “Food is Medicine” products can be prescribed by doctors as a covered health service.

The Roots Food Group is currently raising funds for the execution of contracts with health insurers, hospitals and self-insured employer programs. Company founder and chief executive officer Robert Jones said the fundraising round is expected to conclude early next year.

“We’re thrilled to have Chris Paul join the Roots Food Group family and team,” said Jones. “He’s a proven leader on and off the pitch and believes in ‘food is medicine’ in his personal life and in the Roots Food Group’s mission.”

The company declined to disclose the amount of Paul’s investment.

Paul’s interest in Roots Food Group, which Jones described as “a pharmaceutical company in the form of broccoli,” comes as no surprise. The athlete has repeatedly cited healthy foods for his performance and invested in other food and beverage companies that promote a balanced lifestyle.

“My interest in investing in Roots Food Group is to provide access to healthy, high-quality food to underserved communities and those with serious health problems who will benefit from healthy food interventions,” said Paul.

Roots Food Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Jones, relocated to Dallas in December 2020 with Food is Medicine from Costa Mesa, California.

The company, which moved from California to Dallas in December 2020, owns and operates RfoodX and the Roots Food Foundation, which serves as the philanthropic arm.

RfoodX offers ready-to-eat meals tailored to the diet plans of people with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and kidney disease. The food is cooked and delivered by the company and only needs to be heated before consumption.

Customers can also choose a “farm box” that allows them to prepare their own meals from fresh ingredients.

As part of Paul’s investment, the Roots Food Foundation announced that it will partner with the Chris Paul Family Foundation to donate products to those in need of “healthy, unprocessed food.” The partnership will operate in several areas of the country including Phoenix, where Paul plays professionally, and the basketball player’s home state, North Carolina.

The “food is medicine” movement is not new, but it is growing in importance as the relationship between diet and long-term health is increasingly explored. A 2018 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association said the # 1 cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States was poor diet.

Beginning in 2022, California’s Medicaid Medi-Cal program will offer and cover medically tailored meals to its members. In Texas, medical students from the University of Texas Southwestern can take cooking classes to not only expand their medical knowledge, but also to influence their own health.

As knowledge about food-based health care grows, Roots Food Group plans to expand as well. The company is considering strategic acquisitions that would allow it to increase the number of terms its meal plans seek, Jones said.

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