Recipe4Health Highlighted at Congressional Hearing
On September 1, 2021, Dr. Steven Chen, ALL IN Alameda County Chief Medical Officer presented an overview of ALL IN’s Recipe4Health initiative and the importance of working across siloed governmental and community sectors and agencies to better coordinate food as medicine strategies. Dr. Chen elevated the importance of the sourcing of the food, the quality of food, the need for clinical nutrition education for healthcare providers, and the role a circular food economy can play in providing the supply for food as medicine interventions in health systems.
The roundtable was hosted by Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA). He has also called for a substantive, policy-focused White House hunger conference to create the roadmap to end hunger by 2030, which the United Nations has called for.
“What we eat plays a major role in our overall health. Prioritizing healthy meals can help prevent costly hospital visits and expensive prescription drugs while lowering hospital admissions, improving outcomes, and saving money. As we work to end the hunger crisis in this country and make a White House hunger conference a reality, we must do more to ensure that policymakers understand that food is medicine,” said Chairman McGovern.
The roundtable was seventh in a series of committee events highlighting the reality of food insecurity in America and examining the steps that Congress and the Biden administration could take to equitably combat it. The roundtable can be viewed on the House Rules website. Dr. Chen’s remarks begin at the 46th minute mark and he provides comments throughout the discussion.
Recipe4Health Launch at Alameda Health System – Hayward Wellness Center
We are excited to launch the newest expansion of our Recipe4Health initiative with Alameda Health System – Hayward Wellness Center!
This is particularly exciting because, Hayward Wellness Center was the birth of Recipe4Health’s prior iteration under the leadership of ALL IN’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Steven Chen. Through Recipe4Health, ALL IN is working with Hayward Wellness Center to expand an existing food distribution system, into a clinically-integrated prescription program, through which patients will be able to get doorstep delivery of local, regeneratively-grown produce for 16 weeks. This Food Farmacy will be prescribed to help treat, prevent, and reverse chronic disease and address food insecurity. Further, the existing Behavioral Pharmacy Group Medical Visits provides patients with nutritional and behavioral coaching, social connection, physical activity, and stress reduction.
We’d like to thank our partners at Dig Deep Farms for providing the food to fill the prescriptions & our partners at Open Source Wellness for providing the behavioral group support. We appreciate our clinic partner Alameda Health System for investing in and building upon its earlier work.
Thank you to our funders at Alameda Alliance for Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, the Hellman Foundation and Stupski Foundation for your generous support!
To learn more about this initiative and clinic launch, please visit the Recipe4Health page on ALL IN's website.
Department of Housing and Urban Development awards Alameda County $6.5 Million Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Grant
On Wednesday Sept 15th ,2021 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its selection in awarding $142 Million to support ending youth homelessness. This money will be granted throughout the Country to support innovative housing programs in 33 communities.
Alameda County was identified as 1 of the 33 communities and will receive $6.5 million and technical assistance to plan, develop and implement a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness.
Over the next 6 months, the Youth Action Board, Health Care Services Agency’s Office of Homeless Care and Coordination, the Community Development Agency and our Continuum of Care supported by EveryOne Home will engage diverse stakeholders in an intensive youth led community planning process to design a Coordinated Community Plan for Alameda County.
ALL IN remains committed to supporting transitional aged youth who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness to be whole and healthy advocates for their lives and needs as well as working with our systems partners in ensuring that decision makers are looking to youth for their wisdom and advising on what they need thrive.
Check out the following article featured in Oaklandside for more information on this important grant announcement: With $6.6 million grant, homeless youth in Alameda County will design programs for their community (oaklandside.org)
Upcoming Events
Steering Committee Meetings
ALL IN Steering Committee meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ALL IN Steering Committee meetings will be held over Zoom. Please check the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Committee Calendar for the most up-to-date agendas and Zoom conference links.
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