Invites community to join in tackling food insecurity, ensuring no neighbor goes hungry
Winston-Salem, NC – Novant Health today announced Novant Health Nourishes, a campaign designed to address food insecurity in partnership with the Novant Health Foundation. Building on a variety of initiatives aimed at tackling food insecurity, Novant Health Nourishes provides community members the opportunity to ensure no neighbor goes hungry by helping to fund Novant Health’s emergency food pack program.
One in eight North Carolinians experience food insecurity, which is associated with multiple increased health risks, including birth defects, diabetes, hypertension, poor sleep and mental health conditions.
In January 2022, Novant Health began screening all patients who visit a Novant Health clinic for food insecurity. As part of Novant Health Nourishes, those who screen positive are offered connections to food resources and if there is an urgent need, an emergency food pack that provides a four-day supply of food.
“We know that 80 percent of a person’s health is attributed to what we call social determinants – or factors that influence their health outside the walls of a hospital or clinic,” said Dr. Jerome Williams, Jr., senior vice president of consumer engagement, Novant Health. “Hunger is a vital sign and each month, we have on average 3,000 patients screening positive for food insecurity in our clinics, with 400 to 600 patients not having food for that day. As we seek to care for the whole person, we must look beyond the care we provide in our facilities and work to prevent poor health outcomes, which includes providing our patients with nutritious food.”
In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, Novant Health established the emergency food pack program in Winston-Salem-based Novant Health medical group clinics in July 2022. To-date, Novant Health has provided more than 400 emergency food packs to qualifying patients. The emergency food pack program was recently expanded to Charlotte Novant Health medical group clinics in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center has been partnering with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC to provide similar services since 2019 and has plans to expand the emergency food pack program to all Novant Health medical group clinics on the coast. As of this year, the emergency food packs in the Coastal region are provided by in-kind donations from Food Lion.
These efforts build on other initiatives Novant Health has in place to address food insecurity, including:
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Mobile food pharmacies in partnership with ONE Charlotte Health Alliance.
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Community Health Workers placed in access clinics to connect patients with community resources to address social determinants of health, including access to healthy food.
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New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s malnutrition food boxes and food pharmacy for patients who screen positive for food insecurity while in the hospital.
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Novant Health Zimmer Cancer Institute has provided more than 400 boxes of food to patients with cancer who are also facing food insecurity.
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Novant Health MyCommunity, which serves as an online resource for patients to search for free or reduced-cost services like medical care, food, and job training.
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A focused food security program for maternity patients in Charlotte and Wilmington.
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Focused philanthropic support to community partners addressing food insecurity as part of Novant Health’s Developing Healthy Communities investment priorities.
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Monthly volunteer opportunities for Novant Health team members to support local food bank and food pantry partners.
Through Novant Health Nourishes, the community is invited to help ensure no neighbor goes hungry. A contribution of just $30 to the Novant Health Foundation can help provide a four-day supply of food for a family of four. To make a donation, visit SupportNovantHealth.org/Food.
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