UH Portage Opens Food for Life Market®
Food insecurity has long been an issue for thousands of people across Northeast Ohio. The COVID-19 pandemic and related job losses only added to that number. In an effort to help address the direct connection between food and a person’s health, UH Portage Medical Center opened its UH Food for Life Market® on February 17, 2021.
The market, which is run in cooperation with the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank, is the only medically-based nutrition program in Portage County. It will be stocked with a variety of whole grains, dairy, fresh and frozen produce and meats, canned fruits and vegetables.
How The Program Works
Patients who screen as food insecure will receive a physician’s referral to visit the market. If they meet the requirements set by the food bank, the patient will receive a week’s worth of healthy food at no cost, as well as a one-on-one consultation with a registered dietitian. Healthy recipes, meal preparation tips and cooking demonstrations will also be offered.
“Education is what really sets us apart from a typical food pantry,” said Anne Leach, Registered Dietitian and Director of Clinical and Community Nutrition at Sodexo Healthcare, who has worked on behalf of UH to establish the UH Food for Life Market®. “Our registered dietitians work with patients on the types of foods they want to see and also encourages them to try different foods and recipes.”
Jenny Menning, Outreach Community Dietitian at Sodexo Healthcare, calls each patient to explain how the program works, where the food comes from, what types of food are available and then schedules an appointment for them to come in.
“Once they’ve made their first visit, I’ll follow up to make sure they utilized all the foods they got and see if there is anything they’d like to change,” Jenny said. “Patients are just so happy to come in and talk to someone who understands what they’re going through. They know fruits, vegetables, chicken and grains are better for their health, they just have trouble finding the right foods to eat.”
Funded by Caregivers
The market was made possible thanks to a $50,000 gift from the UH Portage Medical Executive Committee, which will fund the first year. John Gusz, MD, a surgeon at UH Portage and his wife, Mindy, made an additional gift of $1,000.
“As a cardiologist at UH Portage, I recognize the role of a healthy diet in preventing and reversing heart disease, diabetes and other chronic health conditions.” explained Saneka Chakravarty, MD, President-Elect of the UH Portage Medical Staff. “As I meet with patients day to day, it is evident that they need additional assistance and a place I can refer them to so they can develop and maintain healthy nutrition habits.”
Additional Locations at uH
The UH Portage market is UH’s second Food for Life Market® location. The first one opened in 2018 at the UH Otis Moss, Jr. Health Center in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood and is funded in part through the generous support of the Howard and Linda Dickey-White Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. Since its opening, nearly 70,000 pounds of food has been distributed to 1,100 individuals.
Another UH Food for Life Market® is scheduled to open later this year in the Bowell lobby of UH Cleveland Medical Center. Anne is also working with emergency medicine physicians at UHCMC to start screening patients for referrals to the market.
“Many patients come to the ED due to hunger, so we are looking to identify those people, connect them with a primary care physician and decrease unnecessary ED visits," said Anne. "If this program is successful at UHCMC, we will bring it to the UH Portage ED as well.”
To support the UH Food for Life Market® and the vital work being done to address food insecurity and chronic illnesses, make a gift today.