April 9, 2025 • 10 mins
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Welcome to the third episode in a special four-part series from Health Affairs on the intersection of food, nutrition, and health. This special series compliments the release of a theme issue on food, nutrition, and health to be released this week.
In this episode, Health Affairs' Jessica Bylander and Ellen Bayer discuss the content in the theme issue.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ellen Bayer (00:43):
Hello, and welcome to the third episode of Health
Affairs special four partpodcast miniseries on food,
nutrition, and health. I'm EllenBeyer.
Jessica Bylander (00:52):
And I'm Jessica Bylander.
Ellen Bayer (00:54):
Before I get into today's episode, I just wanna
give a little background. We'rereleasing four episodes of this
miniseries on consecutiveWednesdays leading up to and
continuing with the publicationof our April 2025 theme issue on
food, nutrition, and health. Intoday's episode, which is the
third in the series, we'reproviding an insider's guide to
(01:15):
the theme issue. And in the nextand last episode, Jess and I
interview the author of thenarrative matters essay that was
published with the issue. Youcan find all of these episodes
on our landing page for thetheme issue, and we'll put a
link to that in the show notes.
Jessica Bylander (01:28):
We'd also just like to thank the funders who
made this issue possible,including the Episcopal Health
Foundation, Blue Cross BlueShield of North Carolina
Foundation, Kaiser Permanente,the Kresge Foundation, Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, and theRockefeller Foundation. We'd
also like to thank our themeissue advisers, Darius
Mosafarian of Tufts Universityand Angela Odems Young of
(01:51):
Cornell University who have beengreat partners in this project.
Ellen Bayer (01:55):
As we get into the content of the theme issue, I
wanna first point out two thingsthat are new with this issue. So
one is the debut of a new seriesin the journal, which we're
calling Community Voices. SoJess, you're involved in
planning community voices. Canyou talk about that? What are
some of the goals and what kindsof content does it include?
Jessica Bylander (02:14):
Yeah. So the community voices pieces in this
issue are part of a broader newinitiative we have at the
journal to highlighthistorically underrepresented
voices in health affairs and tofeature pieces that are about
communities written by membersof the community rather than
sort of filtered through thelens of researchers or academia.
We did some outreach and and gotsome great pieces for this
(02:37):
current issue, and you'll seethis sort of initiative continue
into the future. But one of theCommunity Voices papers in the
issue is by Rochelle Bellen andcoauthors, and it's about
honoring and integrating localculture in food and its medicine
programs. This one specificallyfocuses on some community based
organizations in North Carolinaand several of the authors of
(03:01):
the paper work at thosecommunity based organizations
that are highlighted in thepaper.
So they describe how theseorganizations integrate local
traditions such as blackcultural heritage and Southern
Appalachian farming and foster asense of belonging and trust
with community members whileaddressing systemic inequities.
And they argue that as this foodis medicine movement expands,
(03:24):
you know, and risks becomingsort of more corporatized or
things like that, it's essentialto ensure that communities and
CBOs remain central to themovement so that these, programs
continue to meet their uniqueneeds. And, Ellen, you were the
editor for another one of theCommunity Voices papers. Can you
tell us about that?
Ellen Bayer (03:44):
Sure. So the other Community Voices paper is by
Jesse Lipman and severalcoauthors from Kokua Kalihi
Valley Comprehensive FamilyServices, which is a federally
qualified health center inHonolulu, Hawaii. And the paper
tells the story of how thehealth center over time has
incorporated indigenous andcultural knowledge and practices
(04:06):
into its efforts and programs toaddress food insecurity and the
high rates of diet relatedillness in the community. And
these efforts include, amongother things, cultivating and
harvesting a community garden,holding cultural food events
with traditional healers andpractitioners, operating a cafe
that serves traditional Hawaiianfoods, and running a food hub
(04:29):
that gathers organic produce andcultural foods from local
producers and distributes themto the community through the
health centers programs andretail stores.
Jessica Bylander (04:39):
That's great. And also new in the issue is the
release of the first nationalsurvey on food as medicine. Is
that right?
Ellen Bayer (04:47):
That's right, Jess. So Ronit Riedberg and several of
her colleagues conducted thefirst national survey on adults'
knowledge, perceptions andexperiences with food as
medicine in The US. And one ofthe interesting findings is that
fewer than half of therespondents said that their
primary care doctor gave themclear advice about food and
nutrition. And most respondentssaid they were interested in
(05:10):
participating in food asmedicine interventions, and most
people felt that these programsshould be covered by health
insurance. And so a couple ofthe papers in the issue are
notable for having interactivegraphics with them.
Jess, what what can you tell usabout those?
Jessica Bylander (05:25):
Yeah. So we have a great team at health
affairs that works on these andwe encourage listeners to check
out our website for this andother great contents from beyond
the pages of the journal as wesay. So we talked about the
community voices piece oncommunity based orgs in North
Carolina. And so if you visitour website, you can check out
an interactive map to learn moreabout each of these six
(05:48):
organizations and see photos ofthem in action. So an
interactive map for that one.
And then we have another reallyinteresting paper in the journal
about how the food supply of 12countries across the globe
compares to planetary healthbenchmarks. And so it's like a
heat map that you can visit andsee how different countries,
(06:08):
including The US are doing interms of meeting the benchmark
for the supply of fruit,vegetables, grains, dairy, and
so on. And despite our status inThe US as a high income country,
there are some food groups whereour food supply does not meet
these benchmark standards. Soit's interesting to sort of
compare and contrast how highmiddle, low income countries
(06:29):
sort of shake out in in terms ofhow well our food supply is
actually poised to meet ourdietary needs.
Ellen Bayer (06:35):
Those interactive drafts really are are really
cool. I encourage our listenersto check them out. And so, Jess,
you wrote a paper for the issueas part of our people and places
series. What can you tell usabout that?
Jessica Bylander (06:47):
Yeah. So I had the opportunity to interview
some folks from the FedCollective, which is a group of
black, indigenous, and people ofcolor led organizations in the
food as medicine space that cametogether to support BIPOC
organizations working in thisspace. So the goals of the group
are sort of collective actionthrough policy advocacy,
(07:08):
research, and other forms ofsupport. And they point out that
BIPOC led organizations arereally important and growing
sort of force in this space andthere's a lot to be learned from
them and they also need support.They need cross learning and
resources sharing to be able tosort of compete and receive
(07:30):
grants and other support tocontinue doing their really
important work.
The principle at the core offeds, the FED stands for
fidelity, equity, and dignity.So that's sort of the core
values that their programs arealigned with and that they're
trying to help other food asmedicine programs align with.
And so, we've talked a lot aboutcommunity on this episode and
(07:53):
the Fed collective and theframework that it has out there
that others can sort of adopt ortry to follow are just another
way for health systems to seecommunities as valuable assets
and partners in the food asmedicine space without harming
the communities that theypartner with. So in conjunction
with the theme issue, we'reexcited to be hosting a virtual
(08:15):
lunch and learn event as well.Ellen, you helped plan that
event and we'll be kicking itoff.
Could you fill our listeners inon what that will involve?
Ellen Bayer (08:23):
Sure. So, yeah, as you said, in conjunction with
the theme issue, we're we'revery much looking forward to our
virtual lunch and learn eventwith a special guest, Marion
Nestle, who, as many of ourlisteners know, is a nationally
recognized food and nutritionexpert and an award winning
author. The event will be aconversation about food,
nutrition, and health issuesbetween Marion and one of our
(08:45):
theme issue advisors, AngelaOdoms Young. So the event is
free and open to everyone. It'sbeing held on Tuesday, April 29
at 1PM eastern time, and we'llput a link to the registration
in the show notes.
Jessica Bylander (08:58):
Great. And also free and open to everyone
is the virtual briefing on thetheme issue, which was just held
on Tuesday, April 8. So that'san opportunity for folks to hear
from many of the authors of theissue on panels covering food as
medicine, equity, communityvoices, government programs. So
(09:18):
all these really importantthemes emerging from the issue.
So, we'll, as we mentioned, havea link to the land Theme Issue
landing page in the show notesand folks can view the recording
on that page once it becomesavailable.
So with that, I think, this isjust a really exciting issue and
everything beyond the journal toto look out for. And I
(09:40):
personally have really enjoyedworking on it with you, Ellen,
and and learning from it. Sohope folks have a chance to
check it out and check out allthe other content and events
surrounding this issue. Thanks.
Ellen Bayer (09:52):
Absolutely. Thank you. Thanks, Jess.
Jessica Bylander (09:54):
Well, thanks so much for listening. And if
you wanna keep in touch with us,sign up for our free
newsletters, and we'll put alink in the show notes.
Hello, and welcome to the third episode of Health
Affairs special four partpodcast miniseries on food,
nutrition, and health. I'm EllenBeyer.
Jessica Bylander (00:52):
And I'm Jessica Bylander.
Ellen Bayer (00:54):
Before I get into today's episode, I just wanna
give a little background. We'rereleasing four episodes of this
miniseries on consecutiveWednesdays leading up to and
continuing with the publicationof our April 2025 theme issue on
food, nutrition, and health. Intoday's episode, which is the
third in the series, we'reproviding an insider's guide to
(01:15):
the theme issue. And in the nextand last episode, Jess and I
interview the author of thenarrative matters essay that was
published with the issue. Youcan find all of these episodes
on our landing page for thetheme issue, and we'll put a
link to that in the show notes.
Jessica Bylander (01:28):
We'd also just like to thank the funders who
made this issue possible,including the Episcopal Health
Foundation, Blue Cross BlueShield of North Carolina
Foundation, Kaiser Permanente,the Kresge Foundation, Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, and theRockefeller Foundation. We'd
also like to thank our themeissue advisers, Darius
Mosafarian of Tufts Universityand Angela Odems Young of
(01:51):
Cornell University who have beengreat partners in this project.
Ellen Bayer (01:55):
As we get into the content of the theme issue, I
wanna first point out two thingsthat are new with this issue. So
one is the debut of a new seriesin the journal, which we're
calling Community Voices. SoJess, you're involved in
planning community voices. Canyou talk about that? What are
some of the goals and what kindsof content does it include?
Jessica Bylander (02:14):
Yeah. So the community voices pieces in this
issue are part of a broader newinitiative we have at the
journal to highlighthistorically underrepresented
voices in health affairs and tofeature pieces that are about
communities written by membersof the community rather than
sort of filtered through thelens of researchers or academia.
We did some outreach and and gotsome great pieces for this
(02:37):
current issue, and you'll seethis sort of initiative continue
into the future. But one of theCommunity Voices papers in the
issue is by Rochelle Bellen andcoauthors, and it's about
honoring and integrating localculture in food and its medicine
programs. This one specificallyfocuses on some community based
organizations in North Carolinaand several of the authors of
(03:01):
the paper work at thosecommunity based organizations
that are highlighted in thepaper.
So they describe how theseorganizations integrate local
traditions such as blackcultural heritage and Southern
Appalachian farming and foster asense of belonging and trust
with community members whileaddressing systemic inequities.
And they argue that as this foodis medicine movement expands,
(03:24):
you know, and risks becomingsort of more corporatized or
things like that, it's essentialto ensure that communities and
CBOs remain central to themovement so that these, programs
continue to meet their uniqueneeds. And, Ellen, you were the
editor for another one of theCommunity Voices papers. Can you
tell us about that?
Ellen Bayer (03:44):
Sure. So the other Community Voices paper is by
Jesse Lipman and severalcoauthors from Kokua Kalihi
Valley Comprehensive FamilyServices, which is a federally
qualified health center inHonolulu, Hawaii. And the paper
tells the story of how thehealth center over time has
incorporated indigenous andcultural knowledge and practices
(04:06):
into its efforts and programs toaddress food insecurity and the
high rates of diet relatedillness in the community. And
these efforts include, amongother things, cultivating and
harvesting a community garden,holding cultural food events
with traditional healers andpractitioners, operating a cafe
that serves traditional Hawaiianfoods, and running a food hub
(04:29):
that gathers organic produce andcultural foods from local
producers and distributes themto the community through the
health centers programs andretail stores.
Jessica Bylander (04:39):
That's great. And also new in the issue is the
release of the first nationalsurvey on food as medicine. Is
that right?
Ellen Bayer (04:47):
That's right, Jess. So Ronit Riedberg and several of
her colleagues conducted thefirst national survey on adults'
knowledge, perceptions andexperiences with food as
medicine in The US. And one ofthe interesting findings is that
fewer than half of therespondents said that their
primary care doctor gave themclear advice about food and
nutrition. And most respondentssaid they were interested in
(05:10):
participating in food asmedicine interventions, and most
people felt that these programsshould be covered by health
insurance. And so a couple ofthe papers in the issue are
notable for having interactivegraphics with them.
Jess, what what can you tell usabout those?
Jessica Bylander (05:25):
Yeah. So we have a great team at health
affairs that works on these andwe encourage listeners to check
out our website for this andother great contents from beyond
the pages of the journal as wesay. So we talked about the
community voices piece oncommunity based orgs in North
Carolina. And so if you visitour website, you can check out
an interactive map to learn moreabout each of these six
(05:48):
organizations and see photos ofthem in action. So an
interactive map for that one.
And then we have another reallyinteresting paper in the journal
about how the food supply of 12countries across the globe
compares to planetary healthbenchmarks. And so it's like a
heat map that you can visit andsee how different countries,
(06:08):
including The US are doing interms of meeting the benchmark
for the supply of fruit,vegetables, grains, dairy, and
so on. And despite our status inThe US as a high income country,
there are some food groups whereour food supply does not meet
these benchmark standards. Soit's interesting to sort of
compare and contrast how highmiddle, low income countries
(06:29):
sort of shake out in in terms ofhow well our food supply is
actually poised to meet ourdietary needs.
Ellen Bayer (06:35):
Those interactive drafts really are are really
cool. I encourage our listenersto check them out. And so, Jess,
you wrote a paper for the issueas part of our people and places
series. What can you tell usabout that?
Jessica Bylander (06:47):
Yeah. So I had the opportunity to interview
some folks from the FedCollective, which is a group of
black, indigenous, and people ofcolor led organizations in the
food as medicine space that cametogether to support BIPOC
organizations working in thisspace. So the goals of the group
are sort of collective actionthrough policy advocacy,
(07:08):
research, and other forms ofsupport. And they point out that
BIPOC led organizations arereally important and growing
sort of force in this space andthere's a lot to be learned from
them and they also need support.They need cross learning and
resources sharing to be able tosort of compete and receive
(07:30):
grants and other support tocontinue doing their really
important work.
The principle at the core offeds, the FED stands for
fidelity, equity, and dignity.So that's sort of the core
values that their programs arealigned with and that they're
trying to help other food asmedicine programs align with.
And so, we've talked a lot aboutcommunity on this episode and
(07:53):
the Fed collective and theframework that it has out there
that others can sort of adopt ortry to follow are just another
way for health systems to seecommunities as valuable assets
and partners in the food asmedicine space without harming
the communities that theypartner with. So in conjunction
with the theme issue, we'reexcited to be hosting a virtual
(08:15):
lunch and learn event as well.Ellen, you helped plan that
event and we'll be kicking itoff.
Could you fill our listeners inon what that will involve?
Ellen Bayer (08:23):
Sure. So, yeah, as you said, in conjunction with
the theme issue, we're we'revery much looking forward to our
virtual lunch and learn eventwith a special guest, Marion
Nestle, who, as many of ourlisteners know, is a nationally
recognized food and nutritionexpert and an award winning
author. The event will be aconversation about food,
nutrition, and health issuesbetween Marion and one of our
(08:45):
theme issue advisors, AngelaOdoms Young. So the event is
free and open to everyone. It'sbeing held on Tuesday, April 29
at 1PM eastern time, and we'llput a link to the registration
in the show notes.
Jessica Bylander (08:58):
Great. And also free and open to everyone
is the virtual briefing on thetheme issue, which was just held
on Tuesday, April 8. So that'san opportunity for folks to hear
from many of the authors of theissue on panels covering food as
medicine, equity, communityvoices, government programs. So
(09:18):
all these really importantthemes emerging from the issue.
So, we'll, as we mentioned, havea link to the land Theme Issue
landing page in the show notesand folks can view the recording
on that page once it becomesavailable.
So with that, I think, this isjust a really exciting issue and
everything beyond the journal toto look out for. And I
(09:40):
personally have really enjoyedworking on it with you, Ellen,
and and learning from it. Sohope folks have a chance to
check it out and check out allthe other content and events
surrounding this issue. Thanks.
Ellen Bayer (09:52):
Absolutely. Thank you. Thanks, Jess.
Jessica Bylander (09:54):
Well, thanks so much for listening. And if
you wanna keep in touch with us,sign up for our free
newsletters, and we'll put alink in the show notes.
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