Late at night on May 16th, someone set fire to the Chabad Jewish Center, which also doubles as a home to its rabbi and his family. Fortunately, quick action and a handy fire extinguisher saved their lives and the Center, which is located right around the corner from us. The hate that has been building in America is real, it is here, and unless we take action, here it will stay.

Hate crimes are punished particularly harshly because such offenses ripple fear throughout the hated group, warning that every member is at risk for violence. These crimes are, in other words, terrorism. Furthermore, history teaches us that in hate-based systems, targets can change. You might not be in the cross hairs now, but your group could be next. Make no mistake: Hate affects all of us.

Most of you already understand that nutrition is political, and patients continue to remind me of how very true this is. Some use food as a coping mechanism in response to stress, while in other instances, the connection can be a little less obvious. For example, one new parent explained to me that the reason he consumes so many caffeinated beverages is that he spends his nights lying awake and worrying about the world into which he has just brought a daughter.

If hate, or any other political issue, is influencing your eating behavior, Joanne and I want you to know that it is okay to talk about it with us. Part of our job as dietitians is to consider the wide range of factors that influence your eating. Think of how ineffective our work would be if we focused solely on grams of fiber, hunger cues, and other relatively superficial nutrition matters without acknowledging and discussing the real drivers that influence what, when, and how much you eat.

Not only are we your dietitians, but we are your neighbors, too. Needham is my hometown, Joanne grew up next door in Wellesley, and now we are raising a daughter of our own here. We want her to be safe and free from oppression, we want the same for you and your children, and we are eager to do our part to fight for such a future.

Back in 2016, we donated all of the co-pays we collected between Thanksgiving and the end of the calendar year to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a great organization that we continue to support, because it was obvious that our incoming president would feed the flames of hate, which he has. Because babies are expensive, we cannot afford to duplicate a donation of that magnitude right now, but we do pledge to donate all of the co-pays that we collect during the first week of June to another important organization, Life After Hate.

Thanks,

Jonah