HEALTHCAREVA program
VA Nutrition and Food Services
Registered dietitian-led nutrition counseling and medical nutrition therapy for veterans with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, available as part of VA primary care.
Available to veterans enrolled in VA health care; call your local VA or ask your health care team
Step-by-step guide
What you get
Care from VA registered dietitian nutritionists on your health care team. They review your eating habits, explain how food choices affect your health, and develop a personal nutrition plan with you. VA also offers diabetes self-management education, Healthy Teaching Kitchen cooking classes, and help when food runs short.
What VA looks for: a talk with your health team
- A visit with a VA dietitianNutrition education is part of the VA medical benefits package, and VA gives that care only if appropriate health care professionals find it is needed. You can call your local VA to schedule with a dietitian, ask about a same day appointment, ask your PACT for a referral, or send a secure message on My HealtheVet.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: get help from a dietitian (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(a)(2)(ii) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(b) (opens in new tab)
Where are you starting from?
- Enrolled in VA health care
Registered dietitian nutritionists work on your primary care team (PACT) and wider health care team. VA lists reasons to see one: eating smarter, managing diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, or another chronic illness, digestive problems, cancer, needing to gain or lose weight, and bariatric surgery.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: get help from a dietitian (opens in new tab); VA Nutrition and Food Services (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.38(a)(2)(ii) (opens in new tab)
- Not enrolled in VA health care
VA nutrition care comes through VA health care, which starts with enrollment. VA.gov lists service in the active military, naval, or air service without a dishonorable discharge as the starting point, with a minimum duty rule for many who enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, and a federal call to active duty, completed in full, for Guard and Reserve members.
- Enrolled in VA health careVA health care opens with enrollment. If you enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, VA looks for 24 continuous months or the full period you were called to, with some exceptions. Guard and Reserve members need a federal call to active duty, completed in full; active duty for training only does not count.
Source: VA.gov: VA health care basics (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 17.36(a) (opens in new tab)
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA health care application VA Form 10-10EZ, the application for VA health care. | Your application to VA for health care | Apply to VA online, by phone, by mail, or in person at a VA medical center or clinic. | |
| DD214 or other separation papers Your military discharge papers, which VA asks you to have ready when you apply. | Your service and character of discharge | If you do not have a copy, VA says it requests your DD214 when it receives an application for VA benefits. VA.gov also explains how to request it from the National Archives. | Yes |
| A referral from your PACT, if you go that way A referral from your VA primary care team to a dietitian. | That your team sent you to nutrition care | Ask your VA PACT or health care team. You can also call your local VA to schedule, or send a secure message on My HealtheVet. | |
| Your personal nutrition plan The plan a VA registered dietitian nutritionist develops with you through medical nutrition therapy. | The nutrition care that fits your health | Your VA dietitian develops it with you. |
You arrange nutrition care with your VA health team. BeneVets does not ask about your health or your diet.
Steps, in order
- Free help with VA claims
Nutrition care is not a VA claim. For a VA benefit claim, an accredited VSO helps at no cost. Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab)
- Enroll in VA health care
Apply for VA health care with VA Form 10-10EZ, online, by phone, by mail, or in person. If you are already enrolled, skip this step.
Source: VA Form 10-10EZ (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab)
- Reach a dietitian
Call your local VA to schedule with a registered dietitian nutritionist, ask about a same day appointment, ask your PACT or health care team for a referral, or send a secure message on My HealtheVet.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: get help from a dietitian (opens in new tab)
- Ask about classes
Ask your PACT dietitian whether your facility runs Healthy Teaching Kitchen classes, and about diabetes self-management education if you have diabetes.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: Healthy Teaching Kitchen (opens in new tab); VA Nutrition and Food Services: diabetes self-management education (opens in new tab)
- Tell your team if food runs short
If you sometimes run out of food or money to buy enough food, tell your VA primary care team. A social worker or dietitian can connect you with VA and local resources, and a dietitian can give tips for low-cost meals.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: food security (opens in new tab)
Good to know
VA facilities across the country run Healthy Teaching Kitchen classes, in person at your local VA or online through VA Video Connect. Classes are open to VA-enrolled veterans and a plus one, such as a partner, family member, or caregiver who helps buy and prepare food. Ask your PACT dietitian whether your facility has one.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: Healthy Teaching Kitchen (opens in new tab)
Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) helps with eating healthy, being active, managing diabetes distress, taking medications correctly, setting goals, and solving problems. For personal support, contact your local VA and ask for a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: diabetes self-management education (opens in new tab)
VA offers a two question self-screen about the past 12 months: whether you worried food would run out before you got money to buy more, and whether the food you bought did not last and you did not have money to get more. If either is sometimes or often true, VA says it can help. Your primary care team asks about food at home and may suggest someone who can help; your social worker and dietitian can connect you with VA and local resources.
Source: VA Nutrition and Food Services: food security (opens in new tab)
MOVE! is the VA national weight management program. Separately, 38 CFR 17.108(e)(12) lists weight management counseling, individual or group, as care with no copay.
Source: 38 CFR 17.108(e)(12) (opens in new tab); VA Nutrition and Food Services: weight management (opens in new tab)
BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you
Sources checked October 16, 2026: 38 CFR 17.36(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(a)(2)(ii) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.38(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 17.108(e)(12) (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services: get help from a dietitian (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services: diabetes self-management education (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services: Healthy Teaching Kitchen (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services: food security (opens in new tab), VA Nutrition and Food Services: weight management (opens in new tab), VA.gov: VA health care basics (opens in new tab), VA.gov: how to apply for VA health care (opens in new tab), VA Form 10-10EZ (opens in new tab), VA.gov: request your military service records (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)