Food is Medicine
Bettie M. Clapp has spent her life proving that the simplest ingredients can have the greatest impact. Raised on her grandmother’s 50-acre farm in Alamance County, Bettie learned from an early age that health begins long before illness. Her grandmother, a respected midwife, taught her to care for the land, value fresh food, and understand that “food is medicine, not drugs.” Although Bettie dreamed of becoming a doctor, her grandmother encouraged her to find another way to help people; a decision that would ultimately shape her life’s purpose.
After moving to New York, Bettie began washing dishes in a hospital before discovering the field of nutrition. Through years of study and work in hospitals, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, she realized she wanted to prevent disease rather than simply treat it. Determined to understand the relationship between food and health, she experimented on herself, changing her own eating habits and developing the philosophy that guided both her life and career. At 26 years old, she committed herself to healthy living, a practice she continues decades later without relying on medication.
As a school food service director on Long Island, Bettie transformed child nutrition by putting students first. She listened to children and their families, learning about the foods that reflected their cultures and traditions, then recreated those meals using fresh, wholesome ingredients without unnecessary chemicals or preservatives. Even when parents and school boards challenged her decisions, Bettie refused to compromise her belief that every child deserved nutritious meals. Her strict standards eventually earned the respect of the staff who once resisted her leadership, leaving a lasting impact on thousands of students.
Today, Bettie continues to share the message that guided her career: healthy communities begin with healthy children. She hopes future generations will view food not simply as something to eat, but as the foundation of lifelong wellness. Through her unwavering commitment to education, prevention, and compassionate service, Bettie reminds others that “breaking the fast is the most important meal of the day”. Health and nutrition begins with what we place on the table every day.