HHS Secretary Kennedy Wins Commitment to Improve Nutrition in Florida Hospitals Through Unique Partnership With Local Farmers
Event was the last leg of HHS’s ‘Take Back Your Health’ tour
By Brie Lowry Cox, Special to The MAHA Report
On Monday, March 30, 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined a clutch of key health leaders in Miami, Florida, for the last leg of his ‘Take Back Your Health” tour.
The event, which featured a leadership roundtable and a press conference, was organized by the American First Policy Institute (AFPI) and took place at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami.
The key ‘win’ out of Miami: Secretary Kenendy and HHS struck agreements with the hospital to strengthen nutrition-driven patient care by, as a HHS press release reads, “connecting Florida farms directly to hospital food systems.”
During the event, Florida health officials also announced the launch of a statewide priority, ‘Food is Health,’ and the need to rid Florida hospitals of junk food. The day’s events coincided with National Nutrition month.
The event’s roundtable featured HHS leadership along with healthcare and agriculture executives, who discussed ways to support the ‘Food is Health’ initiative in Florida.
The consensus: the need to shift the existing healthcare food service spend from large, national distributors to local farms, to strengthen food systems and ensure Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA) compliance with higher-quality, nutrient-dense food for the most vulnerable patients.
Among the health officials who participated in the proceedings were CMS Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz; FDS Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, Kyle Diamantas; White House advisor, Calley Means; Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, Wilton Simpson; and CEO and President of Nicklaus Children’s Health System, Matthew A. Love,
Apart from Miami, Kennedy’s Take Back Your Health tour included stops in Philadelphia, Nashville, and Austin.
During the roundtable, participants also spoke of their commitment to Food is Health, discussing successes, barriers and needs to enhance institutional procurement solutions. Appalachian Regional Healthcare CEO and President, Hollie Harris, shared a vision of health, hope, and healing beginning with food choices in the cafeteria, in-patient settings and workforce wellness strategies.
Mt. Sinai Medical Center CEO, Gino Santorio, focused on patient care needs tied to nutrition and retail food sales.
Rob Webber, President and COO of What Chefs Want!, a wholesale food supplier and distributor, recognized the market access opportunities to scale with hospitals as they integrate local, nutritious foods.
Secretary Kennedy asked roundtable participants about how best to get Americans to pay attention to their diets, and he spoke of the need to teach people how to cook and shop more healthily.
A document emerged from the day: a state-based ‘Food is Health’ pledge from the Florida Department of Agriculture, inviting all hospitals across the state to voluntarily work toward 5% of all food spending to be local and state-based agricultural products. This Institutional Procurement Partnership Pledge was signed by Love, the CEO and President of Nicklaus Children’s Health System and invites all Florida healthcare systems and hospitals to join initiatives that can include:
Expanded farm-to-hospital purchasing and streamlined sourcing pathways for local producers
Workforce and training programs connected to nutrition services and food preparation
Medically tailored meal strategies designed for specific patient populations
Partnerships that help hospitals improve food quality and nutrient density across menus.
“Anytime we can encourage connecting our Florida farmers with customers is a triple win,” said Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson. “We get healthy food to consumers, we support our local economy, and we strengthen our national security through domestic supply.”
Continued Simpson “Florida’s Department of Agriculture has a successful program for food banks and we stand ready to expand our Farmers Feeding Florida program to our hospitals and patients.”
Added Stacey Schieffelin, AFPI Chief External Affairs Officer and Chair of the America First Women’s Initiative: “Every state should be able to do this. This is not red or blue—this is about feeding the American people and helping families live healthier lives.”
The day’s programming culminated with a press conference outlining the partnership’s next steps, especially how to act on a vision to expand farm-to-hospital models in states across the country. Toward that end, Dr. Oz said he will send a letter to hospitals to encourage compliance with the DGA.
“Food should not be an afterthought in health care,” Oz said. “When hospitals align what’s on the tray with what’s in the chart, we give patients a better chance to faster recovery, avoided complications, and healthier long-term outcomes. By connecting hospitals directly with local farmers, we’re not just improving meals; we’re rebuilding a care model that treats nutrition as essential medicine.”
Secretary Kennedy thanked Love, the Nicklaus Children’s Health System President and CEO. “Quality health care starts with quality food,” he said. “The actions announced today will help improve patient outcomes, prevent chronic disease, and Make America Healthy Again.”
Bravo! Hospitals are a great place to start the ball rolling toward local food as good medicine. So proud of the work of HHS and MAHA!
None of this nutrition focus will matter if we are injecting 80 shots of poison into our children. Its an irrelevant distraction.