Teaching a man to fish could solve the problem of hunger, Jason Gromley believes, only if everyone could access bodies of water where they swim and had the resources and know-how to prepare a wholesome meal.

To attack the root causes of hunger and a cascade of related adverse health effects requires a comprehensive approach, and that’s where Gromley, ’09, comes in.

“We can’t food bank our way to eternity,” said Gromley, the vice president of government relations and health policy at the lobbying and consulting firm, Strategic Health Care.

Gromley is combating hunger and social issues that can undermine health by linking hospital systems and insurers that are his clients with vulnerable populations in the community. 

“We need health care systems, insurers and the agricultural community to come together with traditional anti-hunger organizations and faith communities to strategize,” Gromley said.

In recent months, Gromley has begun running day-to-day operations for the Root Cause Coalition, a non-profit client of SHC co-founded by the AARP Foundation and the Ohio-based ProMedica health system.  The coalition created a map of Toledo’s “food deserts,” neighborhoods that lack grocery stores and create hardships for those who don’t drive or lack the resources to gather food.  

Food deserts create a ripe climate for obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure – conditions that are exacerbated by the fare of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores.  Those disabling conditions can undermine employment opportunities, accelerating the spiral into poverty and hunger.

In one such desert in Toledo, the coalition recently opened the Ebeid Institute for Population Health, which houses a combined grocery store and community center that provides patrons with health screenings and employment opportunities as well as assistance with food stamp applications and even lessons on diet and cooking unfamiliar produce.

“They can learn how to prepare that rutabaga they’ve never seen before,” Gromley said.

Such projects promote the health of both the public and non-profit health care providers, who must, under the Affordable Care Act, show that they are serving the community, Gromley explained. 

Convincing health care executives to pursue proactive approaches to hunger is just one way in which Gromley enlists the skills he acquired in law school.  Since effective policy reforms require funding and regulatory changes, there is plenty a savvy advocate can do.

“Navigating the regulatory framework in housing, food security and access to Medicaid and other programs that make the biggest difference in people’s lives will have to go through a legislative and regulatory process,” Gromley said.

And working with professional associations, Gromley hopes to adjust the standards of practice used by doctors and nurses, so that every health screening includes questions that determine if a patient knows where his next meal is coming from.

“When you ask those questions in a health screening, you can predict the likelihood of a patient showing up in the hospital,” Gromley said, adding that hospitals are now “on the hook” for repeat visits that could have been avoided. “We’re connecting the root causes of hunger to the bottom line.” 

Gromley found food for thought at the Drexel Law Review symposium that explored the links between crime, community and public health.

“The connection between crime and hunger is like the connection between crime and health,” Gromley said. “I’ve known about it in the cerebral sense, but making that connection really changed the way that I am addressing the issues that our coalition is taking on.”