9/20/2024 –
Our diet impacts our health, as both health care and anti-hunger organizations have long understood. Now, they’re beginning to collaborate.
he waiting room in the basement of Boston Medical Center looks like any other, with lines of chairs and a TV. But when patients here are called in, they don’t enter an exam room. Instead, they’re welcomed into the Preventive Food Pantry.
Over the next few minutes, staff members tailor a grocery cart to each patient’s needs. Someone with a renal condition won’t get foods high in potassium, like oranges or potatoes. If they’re diabetic, they’ll get whole-grain pasta and brown rice. And everyone leaves with vegetables, fruit and other fresh ingredients.
There’s a grain of truth to the old adage that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”: Recognizing that nutritious food is a cornerstone of good health, the doctors at Boston Medical Center are prescribing the apples…
