Essential: A Food is Medicine podcast centers the lived experiences of clients, caregivers, clinicians, and frontline staff to explore the foundations of the modern food is medicine movement. Through human-first storytelling, the series illustrates why medically tailored meals (MTMs) and nutrition interventions are not a “nice to have,” but services evolved over decades to become essential, foundational components of healthcare. This series, hosted by Alissa Wassung, executive director of the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC), highlights leaders across various aspects of food is medicine services, amplifying fieldwide experts innovating in FIM service.
What will it take to make Food is Medicine a permanent part of healthcare? In the final episode of the first season of Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast, host Alissa Wassung sits down with Erika Hanson of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School to explore the future of Food is Medicine and the policies needed to sustain its momentum. They discuss how to move beyond short-term pilots toward lasting healthcare coverage, the importance of sustainable fundi...
15 Oct 2026
What Makes a Medically Tailored Meal?
What makes a medically tailored meal different from simply eating healthy? In the third episode of Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast, host Alissa Wassung of the Food is Medicine Coalition sits down with Laura Samnadda, RDN, Director of Nutrition Services at Open Hand Atlanta, to explore the science behind medically tailored meals and why quality standards are essential to delivering nutrition as a healthcare intervention. They discuss how meals are designed to meet individual medical need...
8 Oct 2026
How Does Food is Medicine Fit Into Healthcare?
If food is medicine, how do we make it part of healthcare? In this episode of Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast, host Alissa Wassung sits down with Dorella Walters of God's Love We Deliver in New York, an accredited medically tailored meal provider, to explore how community-based organizations have led the Food is Medicine movement—and how they're helping integrate medically tailored nutrition into the healthcare system. They discuss the importance of healthcare partnerships, what it mean...
30 Sept 2026
Is Food Actually Medicine?
What does the research really tell us about the connection between nutrition and health? In the first episode of Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast, host Alissa Wassung from the Food is Medicine Coalition sits down with researcher Dr. Kurt Hager to explore the growing evidence behind Food is Medicine interventions, including medically tailored meals. They discuss what studies are showing about health outcomes, hospitalizations and healthcare costs—and why nutrition deserves a place in heal...
1 Jun 2026
(TRAILER) Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast
Food is Medicine services are not a "nice to have," but essential components of healthcare. Our new podcast, Essential: A Food is Medicine Podcast, explains why. This four-part first season features voices from across healthcare, nutrition, policy, research and community organizations who are helping redefine how we think about food, chronic illness and care. Listen to the teaser episode and subscribe for upcoming conversations. Voices featured in this trailer: Alissa Wassung, Executive...
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