Letter to the editor: Food is medicine for the hungry

For decades, we have viewed hunger as a social crisis and treated healthcare as a clinical one. We have managed them on parallel tracks — one by food banks and the other by hospitals. But it is now time for a fundamental shift in our approach. We must move beyond the model of emergency food assistance alone and embrace an integrated, clinical and sustainable model that recognizes nutrition as a medical intervention.

The intersection of hunger and health is where our most expensive and devastating public health challenges reside. Food insecurity is a known precursor to Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. When a patient is discharged from a hospital for a heart condition but returns home to an empty fridge — or a pantry filled only with high-sodium, processed shelf-stable goods — the clinical intervention has failed before it even began.

Treating food as healthcare means moving toward a model where nutrition is treated with the same clinical rigor. Every healthcare visit should include a screening for food insecurity and “prescriptions” that incentivize the consumption of fresh produce. We need medically tailored meals designed by registered dietitians to manage specific diagnoses like renal failure or congestive heart failure. Instead of just reacting to illness, we need to foster wellness.

We can no longer afford to treat hunger and health as separate issues. It is time to recognize that for many Pennsylvanians the most powerful medicine available isn’t found in a prescription bottle — it’s found in the grocery aisle.

STUART I. HANIFF

North Shore

The writer is the chief executive officer of Hunger-Free Pennsylvania.

First Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: June 11, 2026, 8:00 a.m.