Mark Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer at Holy Cross Health; Virginia Wiley, Holy Cross Health Community Benefit Coordinator; Jolene Mullins, Vice President at South Florida Hunger Coalition; Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Kim Saiswick, Vice President Community Health & Well-Being at Holy Cross Health; Michael Farver, President/CEO South Florida Hunger Coalition
University of Florida interim provost Dr. Scott Angle gave keynote address at inaugural event hosted by Holy Cross Health, Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition and the South Florida Hunger Coalition
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – November 27, 2023 – Holy Cross Health, Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition and the South Florida Hunger Coalition recently hosted the inaugural Food is Medicine Jumpstart Session. The keynote speaker was nationally recognized food is medicine pioneer Dr. Scott Angle, University of Florida interim provost and Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
The Food is Medicine Jumpstart Session, held at the Holy Cross HealthPlex in Fort Lauderdale, kicked off with a culinary medicine roundtable discussion with representatives from Holy Cross Health, UF IFAS Extension, Healthy Teaching Kitchen VA, Living Hungry, the American Heart Association and The Poverello Center, a pantry that provides nutritious food and essential items to individuals living with critical and chronic illnesses.
A supporter of Florida’s Food is Medicine Bill, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Florida’s 25th Congressional District, spoke about her personal commitment to healthy eating.
“I share my journey of learning how to cook, eat healthy and making sure that you make good choices,” said Wasserman Schultz, a breast cancer survivor and self-taught chef who created an Instagram account @cleancookingcongresswoman. “My children every year started getting me a Mother’s Day garden in our backyard, so that we could grow vegetables and herbs and have them right there. I started incorporating quinoa into my diet instead of rice [for the] fiber and protein.”
Wasserman Schultz acknowledged disparities at the state and national levels around access to healthy or homegrown foods. She hopes to address this issue.
In 2023, Holy Cross Health launched a Culinary Medicine Program to help individuals learn about nutrition, cooking techniques and kitchen equipment. Leading that initiative is Kristen Schroeder-Brown, the Healthy Living Programs Manager in the Community Health & Well-Being Department at Holy Cross Health. She and other staff in the Community Health and Well-Being Department completed the Harvard Culinary Health Education Fundamentals (CHEF) Coaching Courses and are currently pursuing certification as Culinary Medicine Specialists.
“While I do not believe nutrition alone can cure different ailments, it plays a role in managing them. For example, it is recommended that Type 2 diabetics eat a well-balanced plate including ¼ plate of protein, ¼ plate of starches or carbohydrates and then ½ plate of non-starchy vegetables,” Schroeder-Brown explained. “If an individual is wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), we can see how certain foods impact them by comparing readings immediately and hours after eating a specific meal. We can see how their body responded to a given meal then discuss possible modifications depending on whether their blood sugar was higher than the desired range.”
Community Health & Well-being team members were also on hand to demonstrate how simple it is to prepare a quinoa tabbouleh salad with chickpeas. Audience participation was welcome for attendees who wished to ride the stationary bicycle that blends a healthy smoothie as you pedal. It’s a cardio workout, followed by a refreshing, juicy snack.
“Everyone who attended was really excited about what they took away from this session,” said Kim Saiswick, Vice President Community Health & Well-Being at Holy Cross Health. “Our goal is to help our community live well and stay healthy.”
For more information about Holy Cross Health’s Community Health & Well-Being Department and Diabetes Prevention Program, visit holy-cross.com.
ABOUT HOLY CROSS HEALTH
A member of Trinity Health, Fort Lauderdale-based Holy Cross Hospital, dba Holy Cross Health, is a full-service, non-profit, Catholic, teaching hospital operating in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy. Holy Cross has been recognized for six Types of Care in U.S. News and World Report’s 2023-24 Best Hospital rankings. Through strategic collaborations and a commitment to being a person-centered, transforming, healing presence, the 557-bed hospital offers progressive inpatient, outpatient and community outreach services and clinical research trials to serve as our community’s trusted health partner for life. Holy Cross Health also encompasses Holy Cross HealthPlex outpatient facility, urgent care centers and more than 40 Holy Cross Medical Group physician practices. To learn more about Holy Cross Health, visit holy-cross.com. Connect @holycrossfl.
