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Over one million people in the U.S. are living with HIV/AIDS and millions more suffer from other chronic life threatening illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. A high nutrient diet, in combination with medication and nutritional services, will greatly improve the quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS and other life threatening illnesses and in the long run, could save the U.S. government billions of dollars in health care costs.
In late September 2005 CHC and the Association of Nutrition Services Agencies (ANSA) were awarded a two-year, $300,000 grant from The UPS Foundation to conduct a major public education campaign about the importance of food as medicine for people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. The primary goal of “Food as Medicine” is to advance the field of community-based nutrition services for the critically ill by educating lawmakers, policy makers, academics, and others about the medical, economic and personal value of nutrition services.
In an effort to develop and educate new leaders in Congress about the power of food as medicine, CHC is sponsoring public forums on Capitol Hill, presenting “food as medicine” at national anti-hunger conferences, and mobilizing support from the general public by using national media outlets to publicize research findings. In partnership with the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), America’s Second Harvest, and the Community Food Security Coalition, CHC is also creating educational materials for ANSA affiliates that will help clients identify food resources through the Food Stamp Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and from locally available foods (through farmer’s markets and food banks).
ANSA is working with five member agencies – Food & Friends (Washington, D.C.), Project Angel Heart (Denver, Colorado), Project Open Hand (San Francisco, California), Project Open Hand Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia), and Open Arms of Minnesota (Minneapolis) – to measure several of the same outcomes and develop a universal evaluation tool that can be used by any community-based nutrition services agency to gauge the impact they have on their clients’ well-being. For more information about ANSA and the Food as Medicine Campaign, please visit www.ansanutrition.org
Click on any of the links below to read about additional CHC Food as Medicine activities:
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