Akron Reporter

AKRON, OH— On Thursday, U.S. Representative Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13) hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Representative Shontel Brown (OH-11) for a tour and roundtable discussion with local stakeholders at Akron Children’s Hospital, which operates the Food Farmacy, a wellness garden and food pantry offering patients and families access to fresh produce. The Food Farmacy is a $1 million collaboration between the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Akron Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, and Summa Health. The program aims to increase access to healthy food and medical care for Medicaid recipients and their families, and helps provide comprehensive medical, nutrition and lifestyle support for food-insecure patients diagnosed with obesity chronic conditions.

“I was so pleased to host Secretary Becerra, Congresswoman Brown, and local stakeholders today for an important discussion on how we can use food as medicine to create healthier communities in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District and across the country. Conversations like these are key to ensuring no American ever goes to bed hungry,” said Rep. Sykes. “This visit was an opportunity to highlight the remarkable efforts made possible by the strength of the community partnerships present in Ohio’s 13th Congressional district to combat food deserts, utilize food as treatment for diseases, and create innovative policies to address food insecurity. I will continue to advocate for public policy solutions that allocate resources to programs combatting food deserts and food insecurity, and it is one of my top priorities to expand programs like the Food Farmacy nationwide to serve more communities across the nation.”

Rep. Sykes, Secretary Becerra, and Rep. Brown began the visit with a tour of the Food Farmacy’s Education and Wellness Garden, which included an overview of the program’s operations, such as the storage and distribution of fresh produce, collaboration with local farmers, and engagement with community members.

Rep. Sykes, Secretary Becerra, and Rep. Brown then toured the Food Farmacy’s food pantry. During the tour, Rep. Sykes, Rep. Brown and Secretary Becerra interacted with program beneficiaries and hospital administrators to gain firsthand insights into their experiences and recommendations on how to expand programs like the Food Farmacy to other locations nationally.

The visit concluded with a roundtable discussion featuring local stakeholders to discuss the impact of the Food Farmacy, how food can be utilized as medicine, ongoing efforts to end food insecurity in Northeast Ohio, and the work of the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce nutrition inequities across the nation. Roundtable participants included:

• HHS Secretary Deputy Chief of Staff Angela Ramirez;
• Akron Children’s Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rob McGregor;
• Summa Health President and CEO Dr. Cliff Deveny;
• Summa Health Associate Director of Family Medicine Residency Dr. Ellen Harrington;
• Cleveland Clinic Akron General President Dr. Brian Harte;
• Akron General Cleveland Clinic FACP Medical Director, Community Health & Partnerships, Chronic Diseases/Food as Medicine Dr. Monica Yepes-Rios;
• Akron Canton Regional Foodbank Vice President Katie Carver;
• Akron Summit Community Action (ASCA) President Malcom Costa; and
• Food Farmacy patient Amber Paul.

During her time as Ohio House Minority Leader, Rep. Sykes worked in tandem with providers, healthcare principals, community leaders, and other government officials to adjust wellness systems to include options where people could be incentivized to be healthy, encourage healthy behaviors, stem the reliance on prolonged treatments to treat certain chronic diseases, increase the quality of life, and keep money in the pockets of hard-working families in the district.

From this, the Food Farmacy was formed. While Ohio House Minority Leader, Rep. Sykes played a key role in the passage of the FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 state budgets amendments that funded the Food Farmacy pilot program.  The Food Farmacy officially opened in February 2023, and Rep. Sykes attended the ribbon cutting.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has slated $2.5 million to support the development of produce prescription, a growing approach to tackle food insecurity and social determinants of health for underserved populations. This effort is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The National Strategy provides a roadmap of actions the federal government will take to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 – all while reducing disparities. The National Strategy was released in conjunction with the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in more than 50 years, hosted by President Biden on September 28, 2022.

Original source can be found here.