UAMS to host 'food as medicine' sessions for legislators; committee highlights rural health grant opportunities

Jenna Goldman, representing UAMS, invited legislators to a culinary medicine experience described as a "food as medicine" program that trains residents to counsel patients about healthy eating given local access constraints. "It's kind of a food as medicine program," Goldman said, and outlined that the event will include hands‑on cooking (participants should wear comfortable shoes), a dinner and a short public health meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. before the session. The senate session will be Monday, March 16; the house session will be Tuesday, March 17, both at the Institute on Aging in Little Rock.

Committee leadership encouraged attendance and tied the activity to the state's Rural Health Transformation Program, noting that the state received a large federal award and that grant money is set aside for initiatives like food‑as‑medicine programming. The chair said this was a priority area within the rural health funding package and suggested legislators gather information to share with health providers and applicants in their districts.

Senator Hill asked about the menu and whether it would be appealing; Goldman said the focus is healthy food tailored to patients' circumstances and offered to circulate a menu. The committee noted campus parking details and logistics.

Separately, the committee recognized a visiting sixth‑grade class from Monticello and invited a student, Eva Baps, to ask questions about the capitol's architecture during a lighthearted scavenger‑hunt visit.

Why it matters: the event is intended to expose policymakers to a clinical education program that connects nutrition counseling with patient circumstances and to raise awareness of grant funding that could support similar initiatives across the state.