Greenwich Hospital helps reduce hunger through #GiveHealthy initiative

Last month Greenwich Hospital concluded its participation in a healthy food drive as part of the #GiveHealthy Movement. The goal was to provide fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy food items to help hunger organizations throughout the state and region during winter months when donations are fewer.

In total, Yale New Haven Health collected over 22,550 pounds of food during three months of the #GetHealthy drive—which equates to 18,792 meals.

Donating food is one of the most popular forms of giving in the U.S. More people donate food than watch the Super Bowl each year, a great display of the public’s interest in supporting one of the most pressing social issues—hunger. However, traditional food drives are limited to non-perishable donations, often highly processed, nutrient deficient food.

“Food insecurity has always been a problem for people in our communities, but COVID-19’s economic impact has pushed more people to foodbanks to feed themselves and their families,” said Darcy Cobbs-Lomax, Director, Health Equity and Community Impact for Yale New Haven Health. “YNHHS staff have historically been very generous in support of their neighbors, and this was another example.”

Greenwich Hospital collected 2,823 pounds of food equaling 2,353 meals. Local hunger relief organizations receiving from the drive included Caritas of Port Chester and Neighbor to Neighbor.

Patricia Hart, president, Board of Directors, Caritas of Port Chester, Inc., MOMS, expressed gratitude toward the Greenwich Hospital online food drive. Using its fleet of mobile pantry trucks, MOMS makes 18 visits to neighborhoods each week as well as 50 weekly home deliveries to seniors and those with limited mobility.

“Shortly, we will be opening our own Healthy Choices Pantry in our HQ building in Port Chester,” Hart said. “This one-of-a-kind pantry will cater to the nutrition needs of those who suffer with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc. Your Give Healthy Food drive items will be most helpful in stocking our new pantry. With your help, we are able to help more families than ever.”

“Thank you, Greenwich Hospital, for a successful online food drive,” said K. Brent Hill, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are staples at our pantry, and so each donation will go toward nourishing our neighbors in need. We appreciate your dedication to fighting hunger in our community.” 

The #GiveHealthy initiative was designed to heighten public awareness that hunger is a health issue and to get people thinking about the kind of food they should donate. #GiveHealthy was developed by Wholesome Wave, WhyHunger, Foodtank, Ashley Koff Approved and Amp Your Good. National Partners include The Center for Science in the Public Interest.

YNHHS’ drive was developed and organized through a system-wide collaboration among Community Health Improvement, Community and Government Relations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications and Food and Nutrition.