MEET the FLORIDA Health & Nutrition CoalItion

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 Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition (FL HNC) – Nutrition and health are two sides of one coin. 

We are a coalition of people and organizations coming together in support of using food as medicine to impact health. We bring a concerted and disciplined approach to equip all community-based organizations (CBO), Physicians, Health Care Workers and Health Plans, Food Packers and Providers to level up to Food is Medicine quality, programming, specifications, and standards with education, credentialing, coaching and resources.

Founders: University of Florida /IFAS, Living Hungry, Eat Better Live Better, Pearl Mae Foundation and American Heart Association.

Please view the full documents of the CHARTER DOCUMENTS from the founding of the FL H&N Coalition. 

Vision: 

We believe All Floridians living with chronic or severe illnesshave the potential to improve their health and reduce their dependency on expensive health and medical care using food as their medicine. We envision a Florida where medically tailored nutrition and education become central tenets of our healthcare system for the treatment and prevention of disease. Join us.

 Mission: 

We plan to make medically tailored nutrition, education, and food is medicine tenets central to our healthcare system to improve health outcomes and reduce health and medical care costs for all Floridians, especially those living with chronic or severe illness.

The National Strategy and White House Policy on Health, Hunger & Nutrition released at the conference September 29, 2022. The Biden-Harris Administration’s plan will drive transformative change to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities. By outlining ambitious, achievable, and sustainable actions the federal government will take to fundamentally shift the country’s food, nutrition, and health policies across five pillars. Two of the five pillars feature food is medicine programs:

• Pillar 2—Integrate Nutrition and Health: Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health—including disease prevention and management—and ensure that our health care system addresses the nutrition needs of all people. A. Provide greater access to nutrition services to better prevent, manage, and treat diet-related diseases.
• Pillar 2A —Food is Medicine: Bringing nutrition out of the health care shadows. Integrate Nutrition and Health: Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health—including disease prevention and management—and ensure that our health care system addresses the nutritional needs of all people.
• Pillar 5—Enhance Nutrition and Food Security Research: Improve nutrition metrics, data collection, and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity, access, and disparities.
• Pillar 5A —of the National Strategy / Evidence to Action: Using research to guide policy and scale pilots.

FL H&NC was constructed over a series of meetings over four months with six subject matter experts in using food as medicine with hands-on direct patient and client experience to inform the scope and work of the coalition to be successful. At the crossroads of health and nutrition- and together with the Living Hungry FIM Council- the FL H&N Coalition will convene to create a wave of momentum gaining new demand for Food is Medicine (FiM) among healthcare providers, community-based organizations, food and meal providers, insurers, government, patients, and their families.

One avenue is with Medicaid Waiver 1115, the $1.6 billion in revenue streams created for the Food is Medicine Economy in Florida. The FL H&N Coalition will bring together all sectors into one coalition to partner together and form the ecosystem and supply chains ready to support patients and leaders in government, academia, health care, industry, and community-based organizations plug into their positions at the tables so that “food is medicine” becomes essential to health care in Florida. The Hub & Network Spoke model is one utilized by CDC, NIH, and USDA to collect and promulgate best  practises  to move a new sector forward. 

Absolutely! We have been diligently gathering the best-practice programs from various locations across Florida and have compiled them within the Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition's portfolio of programs. Our aim is to offer insights and guidance drawn from early adopters of Food is Medicine initiatives, spanning from Orlando to Gainesville and from West Palm Beach to Naples. Explore the extensive and diverse range of FiM Programs available in Florida by clicking here.

Our vision is to establish a network of community-based organizations encompassing a wide array of models and protocols to enhance the well-being of their clients through Food is Medicine programs in Florida. Those with greater experience are poised to mentor, train, and support the newer programs, helping them navigate obstacles and surmount challenges. Together, we foster a spirit of mutual assistance. You can find a comprehensive list of FiM programs offered by the current FL H&N coalition members on the [Programs] page on our website.  

The goal is not only adding to the body of research from Florida programs, but to have a set of funded research and adept evaluators steeped in the current knowledge base of Literature to help inform policy at the state and national level, as well as the MCO's and Health Plan Operators.Those with more experience and mentor, train, and encourage the newer programs facing blocks and uphill challenges. We are here to learn from each other in Florida and grow together:

1. University of Florida: IFAS EFNEP program is an IRB approved study of UF.

2. Tufts University: Evaluation of the Healthy Food Prescription by Living Hungry is an IRB approved study of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University

3. University of Pennsylvania: “Food is Medicine Research Initiative” at UPenn to provide tools and evidence necessary to design and scale “food is medicine” programs: $250 million funded by Rockefeller Foundation, the American Heart Association, Kroger, Spring 2023

4. Room to Grow: Future University FiM Research coming soon (FAU Free Clinic, NOVA SE Public Health, PBA Volunteer Nurse Corps)

With Precision. When we delve into the realm of Food is Medicine, we understand the importance of maintaining precise definitions. Our commitment to this work entails adhering to a consistent set of terms meticulously sourced from current Food is Medicine research and health literature. We firmly believe in the significance of clarity in communication – to articulate our intentions accurately and to stand by our words. Together, we are pioneering a new culture of health centered on the utilization of food as medicine. To construct these definitions, we have chosen to examine food within the context of health and, conversely, health within the context of food. The ensuing terms and their corresponding definitions are presented in the tables that follow here on the  Definitions page. 

Defining Our Terms

In our pursuit of elevating nutrition and health standards, we recognize the imperative to articulate our intentions clearly. Integrity, for us, is the embodiment of keeping our promises, and we firmly believe in the need to establish the meanings of our words and agreements. As leaders within our coalition, we are wholeheartedly committed to supporting the Food is Medicine movement by crafting a shared vocabulary that will serve as the cornerstone for describing and defining our collective efforts.

AHCA divides Florida up into nine regions for providing services to Medicaid enrollees. Thus, the FL H&N Coalition wants to build chapters in every region to connect stakeholders in 12 categories together in each region to be ready for when the funding is approved and starting to flow. 

• Region A - Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Okaloosa, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Counties. 
• Region B - Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union Volusia Counties. 
• Region C - Pasco and Pinellas Counties. 
• Region D -Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Polk Counties. 
• Region E - Brevard, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties. 
• Region F - Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Sarasota Counties. 
• Region G - Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. 
• Region H - Broward County. 
• Region I - Miami-Dade and Monroe

Categorizing Our Efforts for Food is Medicine Advancement
Our initiatives are strategically organized into four mission-critical domains, encapsulated by the acronym R.E.A.L.

• R - Research & Evaluation
• E - Education
• A - Access & Advocacy
• L - Laws & Legislative Sessions

We proudly host engaging live events, such as the Jumpstart Session and The First Annual Food is Medicine Symposium.

Our monthly Movers & Shakers Webinars feature Food is Medicine experts from Florida and other states, attracting an attendance ranging from 50 to 90 participants. You can explore our video library on our Rumble Channel.

Additionally, we diligently curate Food is Medicine news to deliver a monthly "5 Hot Topics" in FiM newsletter to an extensive email list comprising over 1,100 participants.

If you're interested in becoming part of a FL H&N Coalition Committee, Advisory Council, or Regional Chapter, please take a moment to complete the New Member survey, and we will promptly reach out to you. Take our New Member survey today. 

We are 100% volunteer organization.

The Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition is a Not For Profit Corporation registered in Florida.  We raise funding from sponsors and partners interested in our events, our coalition members, and our body of work. 

We have several boards.

Founding Board: AHA, UF/IFAS, Living Hungry, Pearl Mae, Eat Better Live Better

FiM Council: Maura Plante, Danielle DeVries, Natalie McKenna, James Rota, Jim Sugarman, Lisa Reiss, Tom DeFranco

Governing Board: Maura Plante, Danielle DeVries, Michelle Macatee, Lia Schultz, Guillermo Navarro

Advisors: Subject Matter Expert Advisors and Webinar Contributors include

• Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Friedman School, Tufts University
• Dr. Kurt Hager, University of Massachusetts, Chan Medical School
• Elsa  Konieczynski, Tufts University 
• Dr. Scott Angle, University of Florida / IFAS
• National Produce Prescriptions Collaborative
• Center for Health Law Policy Innovation, Harvard Law School 
• Dr. David Dodson, MD, Plant-based Doctor and Board of Foundcare (FQHC)
• Chris Irizarry, CEO, Foundcare (FQHC)
• James Rota, Foundcare (FQHC), client with lived experience
• Veterans Health Administration, Food Security Office, West Palm Beach Healthcare System 
• American Heart Association, Palm Beach and Martin Counties
• Holy Cross Hospital and Healthplex, Trinity Hospital network
• Field to Fork, UF/IFAS, Comm. Anna Prizzia
• Pastor Gerard Duncan, Health Equity FiM Program in Gainesville, FL 
• Marla Guarino, Buffalo Go Green and Buffalo Niagara Medical Complex FiM Symposium 
• South Florida Hunger Coalition, Michael Farver
• Poverello, Tom Pietrogallo
• Living Hungry's Healthy Food Prescription is a Sponsored Program of the Health Care District of Palm Beach County since 2018

We welcome new members!  We are 100% volunteer organization. 

To get started, please fill out the New Member Survey. 

Some Sample Roles: 

• FiM Program provider & educator
• Webinar Speaker
• FiM Regional Council Members
• FL FiM COE Advisory Board
• FL FiM Council of Subject Matter Experts
• Steering Committee, FL FiM Symposium
• HFP Accelerator  Council
• Health Equity Think Tank

Thank you for asking, we quite like it also. It was a creative collaboration with James Rota, a food is medicine client with lived experience and a local artist along with every Founder of the FL H&N Coalition. We feel it encompasses the sunshine, the farms and Florida life in vital colors painting our very own style of food as medicine for Floridians.