Food is Medicine as Health Prevention and Medicine: Reflections on the Aspen Health Strategy Group Meeting

The Aspen Health Strategy Group's 2026 meeting, cosponsored by Ardmore Institute of Health, focused on Food and Health, including the issue of food is medicine. This commentary argues that the field's promise is greatest when framed more broadly as Food as Health, Prevention, and Medicine. Food is not only a therapeutic intervention after diagnosis, but a daily determinant of whole-person health, community well-being, and chronic disease prevention. Advancing this vision requires clinical, policy, cultural, and community-based strategies that make healthy food accessible and meaningful.