By Madeleine Kates, MS

The fourth annual Food As Medicine Symposium was held recently in Buffalo, presented by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC), and hosted at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. This year’s theme, “Culture. Cuisine. Community: Savoring a Healthy You,” focused on creating culturally respectful and responsive nutrition programs within communities, and how the health of a community is influenced by food availability and quality.

Keynote speaker Benjamin Perkins, MA, MDiv, Founder & CEO of Upstream Impact Consulting Solutions, LLC, highlighted the FED Principle®, and how it can be used to create quality programs designed specifically for the people and communities they aim to serve. The FED Principle refers to fidelity, equity, and dignity, all of which are necessary for creating nutrition programs that are effective and meaningful. The goal is to stay true to the cultural context of each community, while also working to close gaps related to accessing resources. In his presentation, Perkins noted the importance of empowering communities to uniquely define what food justice looks like to them.

Building on this concept during a panel discussion about culturally responsive interventions, a theme that emerged was how food is more than just sustenance and, in fact, can resemble home. This is why food traditions, and the way they shape community identities, are key to understanding how to build and implement quality nutrition interventions. The panel delved further into this topic, with the discussion moving to how foods not only carry memories and stories within communities, but also how food promotes feelings of belonging and connection. Therefore, when designing nutrition programs, it is important to make available culturally-relevant foods that residents will want to eat.

Mental health is equally as important as physical health when evaluating the nutritional needs of a community. Speakers touched on how being malnourished can negatively affect mental health, while conversely, it can be difficult to get people with mental health conditions to eat nutritious meals. They noted that those suffering from malnutrition do not have one characteristic look, but rather, can be individuals of any body type.

A culinary medicine panel discussion further brought home how the concept of food as medicine should always be about people, with the goal of helping everyone interested in improving their nutrition build a relationship with food that is both nourishing and uplifting.

“There is a seat at the table for everyone, because all of us eat, and all of us care about food,” said symposium speaker Dr. Jaclyn Albin, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health.

To learn more about the speakers at BNMC’s Food As Medicine Symposium 2024, visit https://bnmc.org/health-and-wellbeing/health-and-wellbeing-food-as-medicine-2024/health-and-wellbeing-food-as-medicine-2024-speakers.

Madeleine Kates has a master’s degree in Nutrition Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Her undergraduate degrees include Environmental Science, Life Science, and Psychology from Niagara University. She also holds certificates in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University, and CHEF Coaching from Harvard University.