OUR STORY
Two perspectives, One shared belief: every food story matters.
Stories with Food began with a simple realization, we can know a lot about health and still struggle with how to live it.
After decades of working in nutrition, medicine, prevention, and behavior change, we kept coming back to the same thing. Health is never just about knowing what to eat or what to do. It is shaped by our experiences, relationships, beliefs, biology, culture, and the stories we have carried with us along the way.
So we created a place to have a different kind of conversation. Stories with Food brings together science, psychology, lived experience, and a little curiosity to explore why we do what we do and how a shift in perspective can change what comes next. Because understanding your story isn’t about staying stuck in the past. It’s about giving yourself the freedom to write what happens next.
OUR STORY
Two perspectives, One shared belief: every food story matters.
Stories with Food began with a simple realization, we can know a lot about health and still struggle with how to live it.
After decades of working in nutrition, medicine, prevention, and behavior change, we kept coming back to the same thing. Health is never just about knowing what to eat or what to do. It is shaped by our experiences, relationships, beliefs, biology, culture, and the stories we have carried with us along the way.
So we created a place to have a different kind of conversation. Stories with Food brings together science, psychology, lived experience, and a little curiosity to explore why we do what we do and how a shift in perspective can change what comes next. Because understanding your story isn’t about staying stuck in the past. It’s about giving yourself the freedom to write what happens next.
Meet the authors
Dr. Patty Ann Ford and Dr. Doug Richards have spent their careers helping people understand health, behavior, and the complicated relationship between knowing what is good for us and actually living it.
Dr. Doug Richards
MD MPH
Doug is a retired physician with training in public health, preventive medicine, and addiction medicine. Throughout his career, he focused on preventing chronic disease, supporting recovery, and helping people make meaningful changes in their health. His work taught him that information alone does not create change. Understanding why we behave the way we do, and how the physical, emotional, and social parts of health intersect, is just as important.
Dr. Patty Ann Ford
DrPH, MPH, CEDRD
Patty is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in public health, specializing in preventive care, nutrition, eating disorders, sports nutrition and weight management. Through years of working with individuals and families, she has learned that food is rarely just food. What we eat is shaped by our families, our culture, our experiences, our emotions, our health, and the messages we have collected throughout our lives. She believes that every part of a person’s story matters, especially their food story.
Meet the authors
Dr. Patty Ann Ford and Dr. Doug Richards have spent their careers helping people understand health, behavior, and the complicated relationship between knowing what is good for us and actually living it.
Dr. Doug Richards
MD MPH
Doug is a retired physician with training in public health, preventive medicine, and addiction medicine. Throughout his career, he focused on preventing chronic disease, supporting recovery, and helping people make meaningful changes in their health. His work taught him that information alone does not create change. Understanding why we behave the way we do, and how the physical, emotional, and social parts of health intersect, is just as important.
Dr. Patty Ann Ford
DrPH, MPH, CEDRD
Patty is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in public health, specializing in preventive care, nutrition, eating disorders, sports nutrition and weight management. Through years of working with individuals and families, she has learned that food is rarely just food. What we eat is shaped by our families, our culture, our experiences, our emotions, our health, and the messages we have collected throughout our lives. She believes that every part of a person’s story matters, especially their food story.
Together, Patty and Doug created Stories with Food and Discovering Your Food Story from a shared belief that we cannot fully understand our relationship with food by looking only at nutrients, calories, or rules.
We have to look at the story.
Where did our beliefs about food come from?
Who taught us what “healthy” means?
Why do some foods carry comfort, guilt, celebration, fear, or nostalgia?
And what happens when we become curious about those stories instead of simply trying to control them?
Through science, psychology, lived experience, and plenty of conversation, Patty and Doug invite you to look backward with curiosity so you can move forward with greater understanding.
Because changing the way we eat doesn’t always begin with changing what’s on the plate.
Sometimes, it begins with discovering the story behind it.
We cannot wait for you to discover your food story
join the waitlist to be the first to hear when it's released.
Together, Patty and Doug created Stories with Food and Discovering Your Food Story from a shared belief that we cannot fully understand our relationship with food by looking only at nutrients, calories, or rules.
We have to look at the story.
Where did our beliefs about food come from?
Who taught us what “healthy” means?
Why do some foods carry comfort, guilt, celebration, fear, or nostalgia?
And what happens when we become curious about those stories instead of simply trying to control them?
Through science, psychology, lived experience, and plenty of conversation, Patty and Doug invite you to look backward with curiosity so you can move forward with greater understanding.
Because changing the way we eat doesn’t always begin with changing what’s on the plate.
Sometimes, it begins with discovering the story behind it.
We cannot wait for you to discover your food story
join the waitlist to be the first to hear when it's released.
Together, Patty and Doug created Stories with Food and Discovering Your Food Story from a shared belief that we cannot fully understand our relationship with food by looking only at nutrients, calories, or rules.
We have to look at the story.
Where did our beliefs about food come from?
Who taught us what “healthy” means?
Why do some foods carry comfort, guilt, celebration, fear, or nostalgia?
And what happens when we become curious about those stories instead of simply trying to control them?
Through science, psychology, lived experience, and plenty of conversation, Patty and Doug invite you to look backward with curiosity so you can move forward with greater understanding.
Because changing the way we eat doesn’t always begin with changing what’s on the plate.
Sometimes, it begins with discovering the story behind it.
We cannot wait for you to discover your food story
join the waitlist to be the first to hear when it's released.
Tune into our podcast
Dr. Doug Richards & Dr. Patty Ford explore conversations about food, health and stories that shape us.
Every episode brings together psychology, science and real-life stories to explore the way we think about food and health. We will challenge what we've been taught, get curious about what shaped us, and discover how a shift in perspective can change the story we tell ourselves.
Tune into our podcast
Dr. Doug Richards & Dr. Patty Ford explore conversations about food, health and stories that shape us.
Every episode brings together psychology, science and real-life stories to explore the way we think about food and health. We will challenge what we've been taught, get curious about what shaped us, and discover how a shift in perspective can change the story we tell ourselves.
Tune into our podcast
Dr. Doug Richards & Dr. Patty Ford explore conversations about food, health and stories that shape us.
Every episode brings together psychology, science and real-life stories to explore the way we think about food and health. We will challenge what we've been taught, get curious about what shaped us, and discover how a shift in perspective can change the story we tell ourselves.
Tune into our podcast
Dr. Doug Richards & Dr. Patty Ford explore conversations about food, health and stories that shape us.
Every episode brings together psychology, science and real-life stories to explore the way we think about food and health. We will challenge what we've been taught, get curious about what shaped us, and discover how a shift in perspective can change the story we tell ourselves.
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Copyright 2026. Imagine Wellness Health Group. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us
Quick Links
Copyright 2026. Imagine Wellness Health Group. All Rights Reserved.