As an internist in the public primary care clinic at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Hilary Seligman often asked her patients about their diets. One conversation that stands out involved a man in his 50s, a longtime patient she had just diagnosed with prediabetes. Asked to describe his meals, he revealed that his daily lunch was a sandwich of Spam between two cinnamon rolls.
“It really shocked me,” says Seligman. She couldn’t fathom why someone would even put those two foods together until she realized he did it because it was affordable and kept him full until he had enough money to eat again. “Healthier food just costs more,” she adds.
That pivotal conversation shed light on the harsh realities of food insecurity, fueling Seligman’s passion for health equity and the growing movement known as Food Is Medicine (FIM). The philosophy of FIM is simple: Nutritious food is as critical to health as other medical treatments like prescription drugs and should be included in health care coverage.