Food Is Medicine for Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Findings from a Participatory Soup Kitchen Menu Redesign.

Health disparities among people experiencing homelessness are likely exacerbated by limited access to healthy, fresh, and minimally processed foods. Soup kitchens and shelters serve as essential food safety nets for preventing hunger in this population, and community interest is growing in the potential of "food is medicine" interventions to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of people who receive meals from these providers. This study describes our two-phase approach to first identify and prioritize nutrition needs within an urban soup kitchen community and then test and implement new recipes and menu guidelines to help the standard soup kitchen menu better align with those priorities.

Development and Evaluation of a Nutrition-Centered Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum for Physician Assistant Students.

Background: US medical schools are increasingly integrating lifestyle medicine competencies into their academic programs. Yet, physician assistant (PA) academic programs have been slower to respond.

Methods: We developed, implemented, and evaluated a nutrition-centered lifestyle medicine curriculum for 2nd-year PA students ( = 24).