-Source-CNBC-
At first glance Sami Inkinen, an elite triathlete and co-founder of the real estate company Trulia, and Rita Perkins, a grandmother of eight in central Pennsylvania, have little in common.But they do share one thing: Both have grappled with diabetes.
"I thought, This is absolutely nuts," Inkinen recalled of his diagnosis with prediabetes. "It was really a personal experience and a shocking experience that a world-class triathlete can become type 2 diabetic or prediabetic." For Perkins it was less of a surprise. Diabetes ran in her family, she said, and her weight had reached 300 pounds before she lost about 100 just through increased walking. But her diet was still bad, and she struggled to control her blood sugar.
Now things have turned around for both Perkins and Inkinen. And their paths were both through food.
In Shamokin, Pennsylvania, about 75 miles northwest of Allentown, Geisinger Health System is trying something new for some of its diabetes patients. Instead of relying solely on drugs to manage the disease, doctors are writing prescriptions for certain patients to enter its Fresh Food Farmacy program: 15 hours of education about diabetes and healthier living, followed by 10 free nutritious meals a week for participants and their families.
Dietitian Anna Ziegler selects fresh produce for a Fresh Food Farmacy patient.
"In health care we spend an awful lot on drugs and devices because it's business," said Dr. Andrea Feinberg, Geisinger's medical director of health and wellness. "But we spend a very small amount on preventive medicine. … It's sort of like we're upside down and backward." The program targets people with diabetes and food insecurity, those for whom it's not always clear where the next meal will come from.
"We understand the relationship of food insecurity and the impact that poverty has on developing certain lifestyle conditions, like type 2 diabetes," Feinberg said. She added that the goal is "to diminish complications of diabetes and also close the meal gap to end hunger."
The program, started 18 months ago, is a partnership with the Pennsylvania Food Bank. So far, it's enrolled 150 patients, feeding a total of about 450 people a week. Read more