“Food Is Medicine” Committee Presents New Pathway At Delaware State Fair

HARRINGTON, De. – Agriculture is the top industry in Delaware, but many residents still struggle with accessibility to healthy foods.

On Tuesday Jun 28th, the “Food Is Medicine” committee held a meeting at the Delaware State Fair to outline their upcoming pathway plan, following $1 million in leverage funds received from the Rural Health Transformation Program.

Michelle Axe is a member of the committee, and is a healthcare worker who can see the direct impacts of nutrition in Delaware.

“We’ve been telling our patients to eat certain types of foods without access to those foods.” Said Axe. “We had individuals with diet related chronic conditions who didn’t have access to the foods that they need to eat to keep them healthy at home.”

The committee aims to bring healthy food options to low-income and at risks Delawareans, by partnering with a number of organizations such as University of Delaware, Deloitte, and Beebe Healthcare.

Delaware Lieutenant Governor Kyle Evans Gay is the chair of the committee, and believes these efforts can help shape Delawares future.

“We are saying to ourselves, how can we get in front of 1 in 10 Delawareans having a diabetes diagnosis?” Said Lt. Governor Gay. “How can we start from a place where we are empowering everyone to have control over their own health and their own destiny”

Another large part of the committees mission is to educate on the importance of the supplied produce and how to best cook and consume them. 

Kim Blanche is the Director of Community Outreach for program partner Beebe Healthcare, and explains the importance of the education efforts. 

“If you give an individual healthy food, they may not have the knowledge as to how to prepare it, what it is, what to do with it.” Said Blanch. “So, it’s essential that we educate individuals on how to prepare the foods that they’re receiving and give them ideas.”

For more information on the program and upcoming meetings, visit their website.