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When Kennett Square<\/a> entrepreneur Mike Cangi attended an event exploring the relationship between food and health in Greater Boston last year, he found himself sitting with two Philadelphia-area neighbors whom he had never met before.<\/p>\n One led The Community Grocer, a nonprofit grocery store in West Philadelphia<\/a>, while the other led the Food Trust, a nonprofit that operates regional farmers markets.<\/p>\n Cangi\u2019s own Northern Liberties-based company, FareRx, provides medically appropriate groceries to people with chronic conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, why are we meeting for the first time in Boston, when we\u2019re doing all of this work in Philly?\u201d he recalled thinking.<\/p>\n That inspired him to create the Philadelphia Food as Medicine Coalition, which officially launches on Tuesday at its first annual Food First Health Summit<\/a> at WHYY-NPR Studios in Center City<\/a>. <\/p>\n The coalition will promote the importance of food and nutrition in health \u2014 a concept known as food as medicine \u2014 while fostering collaboration among local nonprofits, policymakers, insurers, health experts, and farmers. <\/p>\n Temple University<\/a>\u2019s College of Public Health is one of the founding members of the coalition, alongside Food Tank, a global nonprofit<\/a> aiming to build a more sustainable food system. Cangi graduated from Temple University and has a longstanding relationship with Food Tank.<\/p>\n David Sarwer, the director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple, sees the food-as-medicine movement as \u201ca little bit of applied nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n Education is one aspect: helping people understand the importance of healthy eating in a society where ultra-processed foods are often more accessible than fresh produce. <\/p>\n It also includes making the food system more equitable.<\/p>\n The coalition will bring together a working group of stakeholders to meet regularly, identify community needs, and explore clinical programs, research, and funding opportunities that could support them.<\/p>\n \u201cHow do we ensure that all members of our communities have access to the healthiest foods possible?\u201d Sarwer said.<\/p>\n What is \u201cFood as Medicine\u201d?<\/p>\n \u201cFood as medicine is sort of the oldest medicine,\u201d said Danielle Nierenberg, president and co-founder of Food Tank.<\/p>\n Traditional Chinese medicine, for example, emphasizes the role of the diet in supporting health and restoring balance to the body.<\/p>\n In many Indigenous cultures, plants such as echinacea and elderberry<\/a> play medicinal roles.<\/p>\n The food-as-medicine movement has seen a boost in recent years, with more hospital programming<\/a>, nonprofit efforts<\/a>, and policy initiatives emphasizing the role of food in preventing and managing disease. <\/p>\n \u201cModern healthcare is finally paying attention to food as medicine in a way that they never have,\u201d Nierenberg said.<\/p>\n The Make America Healthy Again movement led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed healthy eating as key to combating chronic disease. <\/p>\n Some recommendations in Kennedy\u2019s new dietary guidelines released earlier this year \u2014 including his promotion of saturated fats and the vague guidance on drinking alcohol \u2014 have drawn criticism. But his crackdown on ultra-processed foods echoes what many health organizations and consumer advocacy groups have been saying for years.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The Trump administration is targeting ultra-processed foods. A Penn researcher explains why that might be complicated. | Q&A<\/a><\/p>\n And some medical schools have pledged to President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration that they will offer 40 hours of nutrition education<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a founding member of the new coalition in Philadelphia, Nierenberg looks forward to promoting legislative action at the state and city level. <\/p>\n She pointed to recent federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that could threaten food access in low-income communities.<\/p>\n Members of Congress and state leaders are slated to speak at the coalition\u2019s inaugural summit, alongside Pennsylvania Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh, and Philadelphia Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe rarely get to hear from congressional members about food and agriculture policy, so I\u2019m really excited about being able to talk to them,\u201d Nierenberg said.<\/p>\n \u201cFood as Medicine\u201d in action<\/p>\n Cangi was determined to bring the food-as-medicine conversation back to Philadelphia \u2014 a city with \u201csome serious challenges when it comes to health disparities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n People who are Black and from low-income households<\/a> have higher rates of chronic disease, lower-than-average life expectancy, and limited access to healthy food in the city.<\/p>\n