Food As Medicine Global

Our Organization

Edible Healing Garden

What is the name of your solution?

Food As Medicine Global

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

The Edible Healing Garden will be developed and maintained by LAC+USC and Keck Medical Center/USC School of Medicine.

What specific problem are you solving?

The idea of food as medicine makes sense to many of us. More and more, nutrition is being centered in health professional training and patient care and in conversations around farming, fishing, ranching and other foodways. However, Indigenous people across many communities who would like to eat well just can’t access healthy food – or even enough food. Many of those producing and providing our food navigate a multitude of inequities. We are partnering in creating an equitable and inclusive food as medicine movement for Indigenous communities in Los Angeles and across the globe.

Affordability, limited healthy food options and poor geographical access are active barriers to health promotion among the community, as well as low show rates for nutrition appointments, health screenings and appointments. One’s ability to practice healthy eating and lifestyle habits is limited in such settings even if there is adequate nutrition knowledge at baseline. The lack of nutrition education and outreach in surrounding low-income communities results in less emphasis on healthy eating habits, and a lack of knowledge that many chronic diseases are nutrition related and could be preventable. 

Prior community efforts over the years have attempted to address above issues, addressing a single factor of social determinants of health at a time (discounts at weekly farmers market, community health classes in various neighborhoods). However, social determinants of health cannot be addressed in isolation and should be addressed jointly in order to create more effective outcomes desired by the community served. Resources addressing food insecurity and community health that are directly embedded within the communities themselves will better empower members to prioritize health and wellness. 

What is your solution?

With LAC+USC Medical Center and Keck Medicine of USC’s unique position of being the main hospital systems serving the greater LA community and its focus on identifying and addressing barriers to health within local communities with an emphasis on diversity, we propose the establishment of the first integrated nutrition and community care model in Southern California. Adapting a successful localized food pantry, hospital rooftop farm model at Boston Medical Center, the aims are to localize food production and increase its accessibility, as well as improve culturally-sensitive and appropriate health care delivery in a densely populated, urban area serving the lower income communities. 

The Edible Healing Garden will be developed and maintained by LAC+USC and Keck Medical Center/USC School of Medicine. The goals are to:

1. Increase food security in SPA 4 and 7 by establishing a local hospital garden within the communities that provides weekly free, seasonal grocery kit for local residents. The garden will produce local high quality, nutrient dense, seasonal produce that includes cultural ingredients appropriate for the community. Patients of LAC+USC and Keck who are identified as food insecure and/or with chronic diseases can be referred by their providers to the food pantry as a “food prescription”. Production levels will continue to be scaled and eventually be high enough to offer some fresh local produce on patients’ trays. If additional space is available, faculty and staff may also participate as secondary beneficiaries of the garden by applying for allotments/participating in CSA program in order to generate revenue and sustain the garden for the long term. 

1. Improve patient and community’s access to culturally-inclusive nutrition and mental wellness care by introducing an integrated nutrition and wellness care model. Biweekly culturally sensitive nutrition, gardening and wellness classes provided to patients and families each quarter. Above lessons will be led by providers of color (Registered Dietitians, farmers, other medical providers). Classes will include: growing and eating seasonally, mindful eating, chronic disease management (kidney health, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, etc), and other relevant topics based on community interest. The goal is to increase show rates for nutrition and primary care appointments as well as increase nutrition knowledge, fruits and vegetable consumption. Collaboration with surrounding non-profits (eg. Legacy LA) will be sought to increase awareness/support of the hospital garden within the community. There will also be opportunities for medical student rotations.

2. Improve the attitude, behaviors, and relationships with food to promote lifelong healthy eating habits and the highest potential of quality of life that is sustainable.  We are producing materials that engender cultural pride, traditional food & healing practices as well as inter-generational info-tainment.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

We serve the Indigenous and often undocumented Indigenous communities of Southern California.  Our team represents several local and national tribes, while also embodying the experience of inter-generational, trauma, violence, and genocide.

Poverty, limited access to healthcare, struggles with mental illness and employment, stability often lead to poor nutrition, and deleterious health assets. Our vision is to shore up these communities by bringing them back to the land, mother earth, that nurtures all of us we are implementing an initiative to distribute garden kits, as well as garden, produce in tandem with traditional and modern gardening, technology, including earthenware irrigation, milkweed hubs to support the bee population and traditional growing methods like “Four Sisters,”the Cherokee method for symbiotic growth of beans, squash, etc. 

weather in a flower pot, a windowsill garden box, or a local community garden plot, the power and impact of nutrition is undeniable. Our Food As Medicine Global program can impact individual A1C and kidney health as much as community, maternal and child wellness.

Which Indigenous community(s) does your solution benefit? In what ways will your solution benefit this community?

We serve the Indigenous and often undocumented Indigenous communities of Southern California.  Our team represents several local nations (Chumash, Tongva and Gabriellino) and national tribes (Cherokee, Muscogee Creek), while also embodying the experience of inter-generational, trauma, violence, and genocide.

our good sisters have been working in Ernest on community gardens for the last several years, planting traditional flora, repairing vandalism & graffiti, watering by hand, rehabbing the soil with compost and manure.  

We are bringing sweet grass, sage, milkweed and healing, herbal plants to our local community gardens. We wish to augment the healing and nutritional value of our plantings in tandem with our hospital sponsors ambitious plans to revitalize and empower community, Tribal and Indigenous nutrition.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Katherine Chen is our Food as Medicine visionary.  She is a registered dietitian with a passion for helping individuals and communities improve their health and well-being through proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nutrition, Healthspan, and Longevity from the University of Southern California, and an undergraduate degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Cal Poly Pomona.

Throughout her career, Katherine Chen has worked in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, medical centers, and public health departments, providing comprehensive nutritional assessments, developing customized nutrition plans, and educating patients and families on healthy eating habits. Her areas of expertise include pediatric nutrition, diabetes management, transplant nutrition, and nutrition across the lifespan.

Katherine Chen is currently serving as a Health Facilities Consultant at a public health department, where she provides professional consultation to health facility administrators, nursing and dietetic staff, and consultant dietitians in the interpretation of laws, regulations, and standards governing licensing, accreditation, and certification for public agencies. She also advocates for methods of achieving compliance and upgrading patient care, and liaises with state and federal agencies and professional organizations to stay up-to-date on the latest legislative and regulatory developments in the field of dietetic and food services.

In addition to her work in public health, Katherine is also a passionate advocate for community gardens and sustainable agriculture. She currently serves as the Program Director for the Edible Healing Garden, a hospital housed community garden to help improve food equity, provide nutrition and gardening education, and promote cultural diversity in the greater Los Angeles area to the medically underserved. She is a globally conscious professional with a strong commitment to providing the highest quality of care to her patients and communities.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Promote culturally informed mental and physical health and wellness services for Indigenous community members.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Los Angeles, California

In what country is your solution team headquartered?

• United States

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization testing a product, service, or business model with a small number of users

How many people does your solution currently serve?

173

Why are you applying to Solve?

We are applying to solve to gain technical assistance on best practices to seed, nurture and replicate our Food As Medicine Global program in medical care, facilities, across Turtle Island and the globe.

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

• Business Model (e.g. product-market fit, strategy & development)
• Product / Service Distribution (e.g. delivery, logistics, expanding client base)
• Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)
• Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design)

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Christina Gonzales, Vice President &Gardener

Please indicate the tribal affiliation of your Team Lead.

Chumash, Tongva and Gabriellino

How is your Team Lead connected to the community or communities in which your project is based?

Our team lead Christina Gonzales is a living, breathing part of the fabric of indigenous life in Southern California. A PhD candidate in non-traditional medicine, Christina is a committed advocate of community gardens, working with the LA Garden Council, USC Keck and individual tribes, including her own Chumash, Tongva and Gabriellino nations.