Nutrition Security
U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cleveland Clinic Co-Host Nutrition Security Roundtable
On June 1, 2022, Government Relations was honored to welcome a team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a roundtable discussion on nutrition security at the Langston Hughes Community Health & Education Center and a tour of our main campus Farmers Market. Sara Bleich, PhD, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), was the featured guest and speaker. Dr. Bleich was the first person to serve in this role, which oversees efforts to ensure that all Americans have consistent access to affordable, healthy food. Two members of the USDA’s FNS Midwest Region Office accompanied Dr. Bleich: Alan Shannon, Public Affairs Director and Sandra MacMartin, Public Affairs Specialist. The impetus for the roundtable was to discuss local efforts to support equitable, food-secure neighborhoods.
Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Cleveland City Council President, Blaine Griffin, also joined the roundtable discussion. Tom Mihaljevic, MD, CEO and President and holder of the Morton L. Mandel CEO Chair, began the roundtable with opening remarks. Brief presentations were provided by Nazleen Bharmal, MD, Associate Chief of Community Health & Partnerships at Cleveland Clinic; Justin Stricklen, Director of Market Format Stores at Meijer; and Christopher Burkhardt, Executive Director of School Nutrition for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Staff from Representative Brown’s office, as well as staff from the offices of former Senator Rob Portman and Congressman Dave Joyce, were present during the roundtable and joined the USDA team for a visit to our main campus Farmers Market.
At the market, Dr. Bleich and Representative Brown conversed with local farmers, vendors and customers, and were able to observe USDA food assistance programs in action. The Farmers Market accepts USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, participates in Cuyahoga County’s Produce Perks program and brings produce to tens of thousands of area residents each season.
More than 40 participants from Cleveland Clinic and our Greater Cleveland community discussed how clinical and community-based approaches, in conjunction with USDA programs, can meet the needs of local residents during this roundtable event. Our main campus Farmers Market is one example of Cleveland Clinic’s engagement at the local level to improve the community’s access to healthy foods. Additionally, we are working toward other strategies to address nutrition insecurity and overlapping social determinants of health—such as employment and housing—that have a profound impact the communities we serve.
Government Relations
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