Food, Mental Health, and the Systems That Shape Our Wellbeing

The view from inside one of the Gould Farm hoop houses in late summer.

On September 12, 2026 Gould Farm hosted “Food Politics and Metabolic Treatment for Mental Health Disorders”, a half-day of presentations and conversation exploring the increasingly recognized connections among food, physical health, mental health, and public policy. The panel was organized by Carrie Sacco, RN, founder of Inspiring Nutritional Choices, and gathered together an audience of community members, clinicians, researchers, and advocates.

The program brought together several perspectives on a complex and rapidly evolving field:

Jerold Mande, CEO of Nourish Science, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on solving the country’s current nutrition crisis, and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at Harvard University, examined how politics and public policy shape the availability, quality, and affordability of food in the United States. His presentation traced the nation’s responses to earlier food and nutrition crises -- including food safety and hunger -- and raised questions about how policy might more effectively address today’s high rates of diet-related chronic disease.

Susan Masino, Ph.D., Professor of Applied Science at Trinity College, explored the relationship between nutrition, metabolism, brain health, and the natural environment, emphasizing both treatment and prevention and the importance of public policies that support healthy brains and healthy communities.

Christopher Palmer, M.D., psychiatrist, founder and director of the Metabolic and Mental Health Program at McLean Hospital, director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, presented emerging research on ketogenic and other metabolic approaches to neuropsychiatric disorders. While research in this area continues to develop, studies are examining metabolic interventions across a wide range of conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, alcohol use disorder, and others. Dr. Palmer also emphasized that ketogenic treatment for serious mental illness requires appropriate medical, psychiatric, and nutritional supervision and should not be undertaken independently.

Kalyani Subramanyam, M.D., psychistrist and assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, brought the conversation into community mental health settings, where nutrition interventions can encounter very practical barriers -- from food insecurity, affordability, and transportation to limited staff training and inadequate reimbursement. She highlighted promising evidence for programs that combine access to healthy food with education, skills, coaching, and community support, while emphasizing that the setting in which an intervention occurs can be as important as the intervention itself.

For Gould Farm, the conversation felt especially relevant. Food has been part of daily life and healing here for more than a century -- not simply as nutrition, but through growing, preparing, sharing, and gathering around food in community. The panel offered an opportunity to connect that long tradition with emerging research and a broader question: How might we create environments, communities, and systems that make healthy choices -- and healthier lives -- more possible for everyone?