In recent years, the city of Sacramento has undergone tremendous growth. The city’s unemployment rate has become lower than that of the entire state of California as job and business opportunities have surged. Even Sacramento’s culture has undergone a transformation of sorts with the emergence of a modern and vibrant atmosphere in the area. However, despite all of this growth, Sacramento continues to face a major problem: food insecurity. More than 240,000 people in the greater Sacramento area have inadequate access to affordable and nutritious food. Food deserts have emerged in areas such as South Sacramento where unhealthy fast food chains dominate the landscape, and grocery stores are incredibly scarce. Moreover, people of a variety of racial and economic backgrounds ranging from teachers out of work to nursing home residents are affected by this crisis.

 

As problems like food insecurity arise, the Internal Medicine group of the California Northstate University College of Medicine (CNUCOM) strives to help and support its surrounding community. A particularly powerful way in which the Internal Medicine Group has done this is through its partnership with the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services organization. The food bank serves as an invaluable resource for people living in food deserts such as South Sacramento. In fact, for many of these people, their monthly trip to the food bank serves as one of their only opportunities to access fresh fruits and vegetables. In light of this, the Internal Medicine group wanted to do more than just send its members to volunteer at the food bank. Consequently, Brendan Kim, president of the Internal Medicine Group, came up with the idea of starting an organic community garden. Current second year medical students at CNUCOM, Glenn Geesman and Howard Capone, also stepped in and took leadership to run the garden.

 

Since its conception, our community garden has made great strides. A variety of produce such as zucchini, kale, tomatoes, mustard greens, beans, corn, tomatoes, and watermelon are currently grown at the garden. The produce grown at this garden vary quarterly depending on the season and are donated to the food bank. In turn, the food bank distributes these fruits and vegetables to those in need. Our garden is poised to have an encouraging future as it received funding from the California Medical Association last November. These funds have already been used for endeavours such as building fertilizer beds and buying seeds for a variety of crops.

 

The Internal Medicine Group at CNUCOM is committed to supporting its community through difficult times. Yet, it is important to acknowledge that its partnership with the food bank through the community garden symbolizes something more than just this. It is a passion to care for people holistically, rather than treating them in the confines of a hospital or clinic. We, as aspiring physicians, would like to foster a way of practicing medicine that empowers patients. As the burden of disease in our modern society has shifted from infectious to chronic illnesses, we must teach our patients healthy habits so that they can properly care for themselves to lead happy, fulfilling lives. Food insecurity remains a significant problem in our surrounding area and does indeed contribute heavily to debilitating conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. By acknowledging this problem through donating organic produce to the food bank that the community can incorporate into its diet, we can potentially set a positive powerful foundation for the future of our patients by allowing them to modify their own lifestyles. Awareness and subsequent targeted action are vital for the well-being of our patients and overall community.

 

As individuals who are part of the Internal Medicine Group and California Northstate University College of Medicine, we share a common vision. We would like to become dependable fixtures in our community that can empower those around us in need. This shapes our priorities to develop habits that will allow us to most effectively help our future patients in the rapidly changing landscape of medicine that we see today. Targeting food security in our community through the community garden is only the start for us. We hope to expand this project through endeavours such as teaching nutrition and gardening classes to children affected by food deserts so that they can learn to grow their own produce and acquire healthy habits during difficult and trying times. Moreover, the Internal Medicine Group is looking to become even more connected with its community by working with nursing homes and homeless shelters in the surrounding area. The medical student and physician should not just be known for their ability to treat patients. They should be regarded as the ultimate advocate for their patients and community.