07/06/25

The Healthy Matters Podcast

S04_E19 - Hunger, Health, and Hope: Tackling Food Insecurity

With Special Guests: Dr. Dianna Cutts, MD, and Amy Harris

It’s pretty hard to concentrate, work, or pretty much do anything while you’re hungry. And while, for many of us, hunger is a passing moment, there are far too many children and adults living with this as a daily reality. Food insecurity extends well beyond the physical effects of being hungry. It can be a major stressor on the daily lives of kids in school, their parents, and our society as a whole. Hunger, the world over, is a critical issue, and in our first-world, modern American society, this definitely merits a deeper look.

On this episode of our show, we’ll dig into the complexities of it with the help of two special guests from Hennepin Healthcare. Dr. Diana Cutts is the Chair of Pediatrics and a nationally recognized leader on the subject, and Amy Harris is the Population Health Program Director and a champion of building healthier communities. We’ll go over everything from the impacts food insecurity has on both children and parents, and how those effects play out in our society as a whole. We’ll also talk about the stress it causes on families, the importance of bringing it to the fore in a clinical setting, and what can be done to help at an individual, community, state, and even national level. Food and nutrition are essential for human survival, so it’s safe to say food security is essential for the survival of our society. We hope you’ll join us.

We're open to your comments or ideas for future shows!
Email - healthymatters@hcmed.org
Call - 612-873-TALK (8255)

Here are some links to organizations that make a difference if you want to see how you can help:

Feeding America: MN

Second Harvest Heartland

Hennepin Healthcare Foundation

Get a preview of upcoming shows on social media and find out more about our show at www.healthymatters.org.