Philadelphia Food as Medicine Coalition launches with inaugural food summit – WHYY

Philadelphia Food as Medicine Coalition launches with inaugural food summit  WHYY

Coalition members aim to address food waste, access to fresh produce, food supply chain issues, availability of nutrition education and more. From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! The idea sounds simple: Nutritious foods can have a long-term positive impact on health. But many barriers get in the way of eating healthier diets: awareness, access, availability and affordability. These challenges can drive disparities in who is more at risk of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other costly, and sometimes deadly, chronic diseases. Experts and leaders just launched the new Philadelphia Food as Medicine Coalition to identify new solutions to make nutritious food more available, tackle food insecurity with the ultimate goal of reducing the incidence of chronic disease.

“We know health outcomes can differ greatly in just a matter of miles and zip codes,” said Jennifer Ibrahim, dean of the College of Public Health at Temple University. “In this city of ‘eds’ and ‘meds,’ we should not see a 20-year difference in lifespan when you’re moving from one zip code to the next.” The “food as medicine” approach brings together doctors, policy experts, farmers, grocers, nutritionists, food and meal donation nonprofits, and legislators to prioritize food as a preventative treatment tool. The initiative aims