In January, we joined our colleagues from across the country for the inaugural Food Is Medicine Summit in D.C., hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra highlighted the key steps that the Biden-Harris Administration and partner organizations across the country, like Food & Friends, have taken to improve our healthcare system through access to healthy food and reducing inequities.
HHS released five Food is Medicine principles that will guide the department’s efforts to educate the public, craft policy, and integrate nutrition into the services they provide:
- Recognizing that nourishment is essential for good health, well-being, and resilience.
- Facilitating easy access to healthy food across the health continuum in the community.
- Cultivating an understanding of the relationship between nutrition and health.
- Uniting partners with diverse assets to build sustained and integrated solutions.
- Investing in the capacity of under-resourced communities.
The summit also featured panels from some leading advocates of Food is Medicine including:
- USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
- Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
- Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS)
- Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
- Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
- Danielle Carnival, Deputy Director for Health Outcomes at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Chef Sean Sherman, named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023
- Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the National Endowment
Pictured: Carrie Stoltzfus, Executive Director at Food & Friends; Karen Pearl, Special Advisor to the President & CEO at God’s Love We Deliver; Alissa Wassung, Executive Director at the Food Is Medicine Coalition; Katie Garfield, Director of Whole Person Care and Clinical Instructor at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School; David Waters, CEO at Community Servings; Casey Dyson, Government Relations and Public Funding Director at Food & Friends.