USA SRFC receives grant to support 'Food as Medicine' initiative

Students volunteer at the USA Student-Run Free Clinic.

With the goal of improving patients’ food security and overall education on nutrition and healthy living, the University of South Alabama Student-Run Free Clinic recently received a $20,000 grant from The McKesson Foundation to support the “Food as Medicine” initiative.

The funding will be used to implement and expand food security screenings as measured by the U.S. Household Food Security Module, which examines the extent and severity of food insecurity and hunger in a household. The SRFC will begin to regularly collect data on food security among their patients with the goal of using this data to improve their long-term care. 

The grant also supports patient education focused on how healthy eating and lifestyle choices can affect long-term management of chronic medical conditions. 

“Overall, we are taking a holistic approach to changing human behavior when it comes to healthy living and eating with the patients we serve,” said Chandler Hinson, MBA, M.SC., a third-year medical student who serves as president of the SRFC. “We are super excited to be trialing this program to see if this type of model is sustainable and provides long-lasting benefits to patients’ healthy living habits.”

With the help of the Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group, the SRFC plans to implement a yearlong program to include the following components:

• 12-month education program that will cover a variety of topics such as nutrition, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, exercise, mental health, and the associations between these factors
• Cooking classes at the teaching kitchen located at University Commons
• Experiential learning opportunities through visits to grocery stores and learning how to read labels and pick out affordable and healthy foods
• Establishing a community garden at the SRFC
• Earmarked funds to increase fruits and vegetables in patients’ current meals
• Creating a cookbook that contains recipes for easy and affordable meals 

The USA Student-Run Free Clinic is a student-led initiative that provides free medical checkups and healthcare services to the most vulnerable populations in the greater Mobile community. The clinic is located at the Salvation Army, 1009 Dauphin St. in downtown Mobile. 

Learn more or sign up to volunteer at www.usasrfc.org.