A tech startup has developed a way to bridge the nutrition gap for families, at least in the short term. Even though her family depends on ramen, Vasquez says the soups do more harm than good, especially since her mom and sister are diabetic. Now spun off into its own for-profit company, Bento sees eliminating food insecurity as a component of preventive health care. “And if we’re dealing with a low-income population, that part of the health care system are Medicaid members, which is a taxpayer-supported program,” says company co-founder Adam Dole. They expect to find that focusing on preventive health care results in lower costs for taxpayers and insurance plans that depend on public funding.