Since ancient times, people have recognized that food is medicine. What someone eats has a profound effect on their everyday health and well-being. What is not as well known is that our low-income neighbors suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases simply because they cannot afford the same level of nutrition as more affluent consumers. Even more tragic, people living with and undergoing treatment for diabetes, kidney disease, various cancers and other illnesses require precisely prescribed diets to keep their health from declining. Too often, they need help accessing the right kinds of foods.
It’s tragic to be hungry. To be sick and hungry, however, can be life-threatening. At Mercy Kitchen, Second Harvest Food Bank and its volunteers can prepare nutritionally-tailored meals specific to an individual patient’s needs and deliver them directly to their homes. A pilot program funded by the DaVita Foundation is allowing Second Harvest’s work around Medically Tailored Meals to take shape in 2023, and the number of neighbors served is already growing.
Your support of health and hunger initiatives makes food’s healing and restorative power possible for neighbors experiencing food insecurity and chronic conditions.
