Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank discusses health, hunger with panelists

MEDINA — People gathered at the Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital to discuss the connections between hunger and health during the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank's town hall on Tuesday. Partner Relations Coordinator David Freggiaro said the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank will hold four town halls this year throughout its region to get some more community engagement and talk about issues. The first town hall talked about how to access resources within the community, he said. Future town halls will discuss the benefits cliff and advocacy. Tuesday's town hall focused on the intersection of health and hunger, Freggiaro said. The town hall included five panelists: including Dr. Richard Shewbridge of Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital, Dr. Adam Browning of Cleveland Clinic, Nichole Opet of Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Heather Wuensch of Akron Children's Hospital and Brandy Davis of Center for Community Solutions. During the event, each panelist shared a bit about their specialty and its connection to health and hunger. Shewbridge and Browning talked about the importance of healthy food choices like whole foods, protein and produce for people's health. Shewbridge said he often talks with patients who are food insecure but also have chronic diseases to help them better understand what they need to take care of themselves. Browning, who often works with people struggling with chronic pain, talked about the importance of movement. "What we eat is important, but what we do with our body is equally important," Browning said. Opet and Wuensch help run the respective pantries at their locations, speaking about what they've experienced in the last few years. Opet is the lead dietitian at Nourish, a food pantry located in two of the Cleveland Clinic's hospitals. The first location opened in 2022 at the Cleveland Clinic Akron General. Besides providing food, Nourish has nutrition professionals on-site to answer people's questions. "We really focus on offering nutritious food choices," Opet said. "We source everything from our local food banks, but we're trying to choose the fresh fruits and vegetables, low-salt canned goods, any type of meat and protein we can get our hands on and, of course, whole grains when it's available." Similarly, Akron Children's Hospital has several locations for its Food Farmacy, which is a choice food pantry that allows families to select items as they would in a grocery store. Wuensch said that there is a referral process completed by providers or hospital staff. The referrals are based on positive food insecurity screenings and income eligibility. "Health and food, the synergies between the two just can't be underscored," Wuensch said. After the panelists spoke, attendees asked questions about health and its connection to food, as well as the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank's work. "We're trying to branch out a little bit and get in front of people and talk about us and what we do and the importance of it," Freggiaro said. To learn more, visit www.akroncantonfoodbank.org. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.