One in seven Ohioans faces food insecurity, according to Feeding America. This series is produced in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.
Hospitals aren’t generally known for their great food. But a Cleveland Clinic location in Lorain County is looking to send patients home with meals that far transcend the stereotypical mystery meat and Jell-O.
They are one of a increasing number of hospitals locally and nationally that are providing food and linking patients to resources as part of a growing movement in health care that recognizes the link between food insecurity and health outcomes.
The realization struck Dr. Rebecca Starck, an OB-GYN and the chief medical officer for Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital, a few years back, when she treated a pregnant woman who had developed gestational diabetes.
Dr. Starck became frustrated that her patient wasn’t taking her advice to test her blood sugars.
“She looked at me and she said, ‘Dr. Starck, if I can't afford the foods that the nutritionist recommended, why would I bother to check my blood sugars?’ I sat back and it made me feel sad," she said.
A food pantry for patients
As of 2022 in Lorain County, about 46,000 people, or 14.7% of the population, were food insecure—meaning they didn’t have enough food and didn’t know when their next meal would come, according to Feeding America. That’s better than some parts of Ohio, but worse than the national average.
Those stats and the conversation with her patient inspired Starck to do something a little unusual for a doctor. She opened a food pantry at the hospital in April.
When a patient is admitted or comes to the ER, hospital staff ask them a series of questions to determine if they are food insecure or have transportation issues.
If they answer yes, an electronic system flags them as someone who could use some food assistance. As soon as they get home, they are set up with healthy food as part of their treatment plan.
“These might be the individuals who also have transportation problems," Starck said. "So if they don't get sent home with healthy food and they are food insecure, they might not get healthy food for days, and they might never get access to this program that's available through Second Harvest.”
Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio is the local food bank and a partner on the hospital pantry.
Starck said 30% or more of her patients of birthing age have conditions such as obesity and diabetes that can compromise infant health if not managed well, which is why she preaches food as medicine.
“Hypertension, prematurity, those are some of the leading causes of infant mortality," said Starck. "So really addressing that [is important], and it goes back to the building blocks of healthy nutrition.”
Boxes behind the scenes
Starck, of course, isn’t running the pantry. That task falls on Terri Meadows, the volunteer patient guest services supervisor.
She works out of two small rooms hidden behind the front desk on the first floor of Avon Hospital. The first room is set up as the pantry, and one next door is where her computer station is located.
When a patient is identified as a pantry recipient, Meadows gets a notification on her computer. That tells Meadows to get to work making a box.
Meadows makes two different boxes: one with foods tailored towards those with diabetes, and another for those with heart disease.
The food will be enough for a family to eat three meals over three days. When it’s time for a patient to be discharged, a hospital staffer grabs the bag from Meadows and hands it to the patient, along with their discharge paperwork, as they walk out the door.
A few days later, the patient will get a follow-up call from Second Harvest, offering to set them up with routine food supply.
Meadows said she’s careful to keep the process discreet.
“We want to keep it as personal and confidential as possible, so it's not actually publicized to those if they are a little embarrassed by it, which they could be," she said.
Meadows understands. She had to rely on a food bank for help a few years ago, even when she had a decent job at a hospital.
The experience led Meadows to suggest the pantry expand to serve hospital workers who may also be food insecure. That service was recently implemented as many are dealing with hard times right now, Starck said.
Second Harvest has reported a 15% increase in need in Lorain County this year, due to inflation and other pressures. Starck said there's likely many more who need help that aren’t getting it, adding she wants to expand the pantry and offer it at Cleveland Clinic’s outpatient facility next door.
“Mindfulness, healthy nutrition, those choices aren't available to everyone," she said. "If we can make it available to everyone, then I think more and more people will lead healthier lives.”
Starck said it’s too early to say how Avon’s pantry is helping patients, but in the four months since the program started, 68 people have been fed.
