In this episode guest host, Dr. Reggie Tucker-Seeley, moderates a discussion with two leaders from two remarkable organizations with the mission to provide food to those that are facing long-term illnesses like cancer. In this episode, the importance of the community and organizations addressing food insecurity and providing needed interventions are highlighted by Alissa Wassung, Executive Director at Food is Medicine Coalition and Alyssa Baldino, Associate Director of Nutrition Services and Therapeutics at Project Angel Food. TRANSCRIPT The guest on this podcast episode has no disclosures to declare. Dr. Reggie Tucker-Seeley: Welcome back to ASCO's Social Determinants of Health and Cancer Care podcast. I am Dr. Reggie Tucker-Seeley. We are continuing our conversation on “Community and Organizations Focused on organizations addressing Patient Needs in the Cancer Community.” I'm joined by Alissa Wassung, Executive Director of Food Is Medicine Coalition, and Alyssa Baldino, Associate Director of Nutrition Services and Therapeutics at Project Angel Food. In this episode, we will discuss a patient and household need that often gets overlooked following a cancer diagnosis, and that is food insecurity. We are fortunate to be joined by two people from amazing organizations with a mission to provide food to those that are facing long-term illnesses. First, we have Food Is Medicine Coalition, which is a national organization that provides evidence-informed medical, food, and nutrition interventions to critically and chronically ill people while working to advance public policy surrounding food and nutrition. And second, we have Project Angel Food, located in Los Angeles, California, and is a part of the Food Is Medicine Coalition, which prepares and delivers healthy meals, comfort, and hope to people impacted by serious illness. So, given that both of our guests today are named Alyssa, we're going to say Alyssa B and Alissa W to distinguish between our two guests. So, thank you both for being part of our Social Determinant of Health conversation focused on communities and organizations. Alissa Wassung: Thank you so much for having us. We're so excited to be here. Dr. Reggie Tucker-Seeley: Great. Let's dive right in. And this first question is one that we ask all of our guests, and that is: What does Social Determinants of Health in cancer care mean to you? We'll start with you, Alissa W. Alissa Wassung: I would have to say that it means making sure that everyone who is coping with cancer has everything that they need to survive and thrive through the process. From our perspective as caregivers in the community for over 40 years, a lot of this knowledge and wisdom comes from our roots in the HIV epidemic and seeing how the toll of illness can take on a person and also their caregiving structure, that it affects the whole family. So really, having that holistic, person-centered view of what wellness and health means through a diagnosis like cancer, making sure that we are showing up for the food piece and paying attention to the rest of it as well. Alyssa B? Alyssa Baldino: I've been a dietitian for nearly 15 years, and someone's ability to manage their chronic illness is so heavily influenced by their environment and the resources available. So, education is obviously a good building tool to help someone work within their resources, but it only goes so far. So, the more holistic you look at, especially cancer clients, the better you can help someone, the more you understand all the outside factors that affect their lives. Dr. Reggie Tucker-Seeley: Thank you for providing those perspectives. Social Determinants of Health feels like such a broad term. It's often described as where we live, learn, work, and play, and that's everything. So, would you consider food insecurity as a social determinant of health? Alissa Wassung: Absolutely. The ability to nourish oneself as you are supporting your own body through treatment and recovery is foundational to what we understand about health. I think what's different for our organizations is that food insecurity can be reduced to hunger. And certainly, our programs, medically tailored meal and medically tailored grocery programs that also provide the services of a registered dietitian that helps people with the education piece and some of the more clinical pieces like what's called medical nutrition therapy, are so much more than just addressing the hunger piece. So, food insecurity is absolutely a social determinant of health. So, in a spectrum, I would say food insecurity can be really addressed in the prevention phase and what we are doing is more on the treatment side of that food insecurity spectrum. Alyssa Baldino: Education as registered dietitians is so powerful and can be a great tool for clients. But as a medically tailored meal provider, it's also empowering to be able to provide the food we are educating clients to nourish themselves with. So, in ...
