Doctors and dietitians at Children's National Hospital in D.C. are prescribing some patients nutritious foods in an effort to fight disease.
A team of dietitians at the hospital unloaded the week's shipment of fresh food for patients with diabetes and pre-diabetes Thursday morning.
Then, they piled fresh green beans, apples, squash, carrots and other healthy foods into bags.
"Food is a huge part of the disease state," said Sarah Roberts, a clinical dietitian for Children's National. "It's very important that families understand the importance of using these whole grains, these fruits and vegetables in their diet because when we're looking at the disease state, we want to tackle it from all points."
Pre-diabetes and diabetes patients with food insecurity at Children's National receive three bags of food tailored to their medical needs as part of a food pharmacy program with the Capital Area Food Bank.
Roberts said they've seen an increase in patients reporting food insecurity in recent years. Patients' guardians fill out screenings when they visit the hospital.
"That was another reason for starting the food pharmacy is not only the increase of food insecurity during the in the pandemic, but the increase of type 2 diabetes during the pandemic," she said.
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The proper foods can treat, prevent and, in some cases, reverse a diagnosis of diabetes, experts say.
"I've lost about 50-60 pounds just because I’ve been able to have good choices," Children's National patient Iman Bangura told News4 via a video call.
Bangura, who has type 2 diabetes, has been in the food pharmacy program for more than a year.
For her, the food pharmacy isn't just her way out of a food desert, it's helping change family history.
The food pharmacy served about 30 patients a month when the program began in 2021. Now, more than 200 families a month receive the fresh and healthy groceries.
Roberts said it's been a vital tool in providing well-rounded care.
"If we're in here doing these educations with these patients about fresh fruits and vegetables and they're not able to purchase those things on their own and get those in the store, then it feels like we're not fully meeting the needs of those patients," she said.
