After the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that nearly one-in-five patient families struggle with food insecurity, they wanted to address the issue.

So, they launched a pilot program in July 2023 that allowed the family of a patient who was treated at their hospital could choose to receive a week’s worth of prepared meals, six months of produce, or both, writes Alan Yu for WHYY.

“This program felt like a really meaningful way to be able to continue to support families with their needs, even after they left our direct care in the hospital,” Dr. Aditi Vasan, a pediatrician and researcher at CHOP, said.

This is a continuation of previous work CHOP has done to help families that are facing food insecurity, including directing them to resources like food vouchers and helping them sign up with community and government programs.

Vasan and other researchers found that the families who participated in the program liked it.

This is true for Sophia Wallace, a mother of five.

“The food program really did help me because I didn’t have to stress about running out of food, because I knew that food was coming,” she said.

After launching the pilot with a corporate grant, CHOP is now looking to find ways to keep it going in the long run.

Read more about how CHOP is addressing food insecurity in WHYY.

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