ST. PAUL — Some Minnesota clinics have come up with a simple prescription for improving their patients’ health: food.

Research shows hungry children are hospitalized more often. They’re at higher risk for developmental problems. Their mothers are more likely to be depressed. Yet hunger rarely comes up when those families see a doctor.

Dr. Diana Cutts, a pediatrician at Hennepin County Medical Center, who studies ties between food and health, said that at any given time at least a quarter of her patients don’t have enough food. She’s part of a small but growing movement to get better food to patients.

Some clinics operate their own food banks or offer food deliveries. This summer, Lakewood Heath System in Staples will offer free community supported agriculture shares to low-income families.