ALC - foodrescue

Food as Medicine the shorter version:

• During the pandemic, American’s life expectancy went down. While other countries saw a rebound post-pandemic, the U.S. has not.
• Your zip code can predict your life expectancy.
• The director of UT’s Medical schools says “the present state of nutrition education in our medical schools is sad.” Thankfully, medical schools are enhancing and evolving their nutrition education.
• Nutraceuticals can replace some pharmaceuticals.
• Weight loss company Jenny Craig closes nationwide. Here’s hoping people turn to food as medicine and not drugs to lose weight.
• By 2024, all hospitals and clinics in federal payment programs must screen their patients for social determinants of health, including food insecurity.

Food as Medicine the longer version:

Living Better: What it takes to get healthy in America

The short version: 

• A shocking stat: 80% of healthcare dollars are allocated to preventable chronic disease, yet nine out of 10 Americans don’t meet the government’s own recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption!!! Check out the end of this blog post for tips on how to include more fruit in your daily diet!
• In 2020, one in six military and veteran families reported experiencing low food security or hunger.
• The American Heart Association and The Rockefeller Foundation’s vision for their Food is Medicine (FIM) Initiative “is to accelerate a future in which millions of patients receive the benefit of a more holistic approach to diet and health.”
• 27% of disabled people live in poverty (which is 2x the rate in the general population!). Disabled people are struggling to access the food they need to stay healthy with the dramatic increase in food prices and the end of pandemic-era SNAP benefits.

The longer version:

‘Food as medicine’ gains more traction

“Eighty percent of healthcare dollars in this country are allocated to preventable chronic disease, yet nine out of 10 Americans don’t meet the government’s own recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association, during a recent Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit. “There is a clear and significant role for food interventions in the healthcare system. “You go to the doctor, you get a diagnosis, and they give you a prescription for fruits and vegetables to treat your condition. Imagine a world where your diagnosis is being treated by what’s on your plate, not by what’s in a pill,” Burns added. “This could be transformational for the trajectory of human health in this country.”

As we see more advancements in the Food as Medicine space, the need becomes even more critical as many pandemic-era policies are expiring…

More encouraging news about practical and successful implementations of Food as Medicine comes out every day. 

February’s Food as Medicine highlights continue, onward and upward…

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, aka the father of medicine, said over 2,400 years ago: “let food be thy medicine.” Many millennia later, it seems we are just getting the message. 

We could not be prouder of the impact that was accomplished by our network in 2021. Thank you to everyone who contributed to helping us grow!