Welcome to Food with Mark Bitman. I'm Kate Bitman. Thanks for being here. We know how many of you are loyal listeners and we appreciate that so much. If you'd like to hear more from Mark and me and our small but mighty team, check us out on bitmanproject.com. When you subscribe there, you'll get access to our recipe database, which now has thousands of recipes, with more added weekly.

If you prefer a substack experience, we're on there, too, bitmanproject.substack.com.

Reach out to us with any questions, comments, or stuff you think should be featured on the podcast or on our site, food at markbitman.com. Protein. Keto. Intermittent fasting. Gut health. Food as medicine. My dad and I both tend to shrink away from

buzzwords and trends. Of course, though many of these terms and ideas come

from real research and truths. It's when they spin out of control and everyone hops on the

bandwagon that we eye-roll. Food as medicine is one of those terms that's been taken out of context

and used for just about everything possible. But since we bitmans are such proponents of

home cooking and the nourishment that good food can provide, we do believe in the roots of food

as a healing power. When you see a big plate of homemade food, how can you not? Today's guests are Sven

Gerlinger and Terence Meck. Neither uses the term food as medicine

verbatim, but both of them are doing important work to nourish people, the people who need it

most. Sven is Northwell Health's chief experience officer, and in 2017, under his leadership, Northwell, which has 28 hospitals,

embarked on an impactful culinary journey, reimagining the way food is sourced, prepared,

and served to both patients and staff. The initiative prioritizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients, and has, as you may imagine,

been very well received. And Terence Meck is in his second year as the CEO of God's Love We Deliver,

a non-profit that provides medically tailored meals at no cost to almost 20,000 New Yorkers a year.

God's love is very special to Mark and me,

and we try to support them whenever we can. Also, Mark is on the organization's culinary

council. Before his tenure as CEO, Terrence served on the God's Love Board of Directors for 14 years,

and as board chair for four of those years.

Terrence and Sven hadn't met before this interview, but their teams have worked together,

as you'll hear about, and it was wonderful and inspiring to get to know them both.

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