Rite Aid Healthy Futures invests more than $4.5M into children’s hospitals to improve food access

With the vision of creating healthier, more equitable neighborhoods, Rite Aid Healthy Futures has provided more than $4.5 million in grant funding to leading children’s hospitals nationwide, giving them additional resources to address hunger and food insecurity through innovative, community-rooted initiatives.

Forty-two hospitals serving Rite Aid’s 17-state footprint received grants ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 through Healthy Futures’ Connecting Communities signature initiative. The program emphasizes larger markets with acute hunger realities and leading hospitals that drive care, cures and advancements inside their walls and beyond in their communities. States with multiple hospitals receiving funding include California (9), New York (7), Ohio (5), Pennsylvania (5), Michigan (4) and Virginia (2). In addition, three hospitals serving New York City received grants: Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

In the summer of 2022, food insecurity rates reached levels seen during the acute onset of the pandemic, according to a survey from The Urban Institute. This Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research organization provides data and evidence to help advance upward mobility and equity. In addition, households with children reported higher rates of food insecurity, bolstering the need for increased investment through Connecting Communities, Rite Aid said.

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Hospitals have deployed the funding in multiple ways, including screening patients for food insecurity and connecting them with resources; engaging in direct food access and distribution to patients; and conducting community engagement initiatives through community gardens, farmers markets and other partnerships. By also helping change behaviors and encourage healthy eating for life, the hospitals’ programs also provide an important disease prevention and management function.

The Connecting Communities program was launched in 2021. It finds innovative ways to link major institutions and their communities to nurture and promote health equity for children, especially those already receiving medical care or living with severe illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and obesity, among others.

In its first two rounds of Connecting Communities funding, Rite Aid Healthy Futures partnered with children’s hospitals to help kids and families before they reach emergency departments, operating rooms and therapy centers. Funding has supported hospitals with growing or established community strategies and initiatives that address hunger and food insecurity.

The learnings through this initiative underscore hospitals' vital role in connecting care systems in local communities and serving as the hub for nonprofit organizations and government agencies that also support children and families, Rite Aid noted.

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Additionally, pediatric healthcare providers play an important and direct role in alleviating food insecurity among children and families, as well as increasing access to healthy nutritious food. Hospitals and their providers get an up-close look at the effects of systemic and institutional racism, which can often be the root cause of food insecurity, the company said.

“Healthy communities create healthier and more resilient children, and the reality is hunger and food insecurity prevent far too many children, families and communities from reaching their full and inherent potential,” said Matt DeCamara, executive director of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. “We have a call to action – to say ‘enough is enough’ when we see so many of our neighbors and neighborhoods facing hunger every day. As a society, we must affect change and strive for more enduring solutions. By partnering with these incredible hospitals across the country, we hope to reach kids and families where the need is greatest and treat healthy food as life-changing medicine.”

The Connecting Communities program supports major hospitals as they grow their food-security program to reach even more children and families during a time of major need.

The hospitals receiving funding all display leadership addressing critical issues, such as dismantling systems of racism and privilege, developing school-based partnerships, participating in critical advocacy work and eliminating the stigma around food-security programs, among other areas.

Many of the partnered hospitals are part of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals with a mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Examples include:

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

The largest provider of care for children in Los Angeles County, where 1 in 5 children are food insecure, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has focused on providing food to those in need, distributing more than 50,000 pounds of food across several locations. Building upon that work, CHLA also seeded and sponsored The City’s Garden at Los Angeles City College. Employee volunteers from the hospital’s Community Impact Champions Network have been busy helping to plant and seed the garden, which provides college students and the community a place to come together, grow their fresh produce and learn about nutrition and diverse cuisines.

“Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is at the forefront of pediatric medicine with globally leading research and groundbreaking treatments, while remaining deeply committed to our local community right here in L.A.,” said Rolando Gomez, director for community relations and strategic initiatives at CHLA. “People experience food insecurity for a variety of reasons and can find themselves in need of these services overnight. When those times occur, our goal is to be a vital resource for children and their families.”

Seattle Children’s Hospital

With a focus on dismantling systemic and institutional racism, the Food Security program at Seattle Children’s Hospital has integrated anti-racism commitments into daily operations to identify and eliminate health disparities, root out systemic racism and build a culture of belonging and inclusion. About 12% of adults experience food insecurity in Kings County, with Hispanic, Black and multiracial adults reporting higher rates than white adults. Almost 60% of food-insecure households included children. In response, the Food Security program provides services such as a walk-up outpatient food pantry, grocery delivery to inpatient rooms, home deliveries and grocery card distribution. The hospital reaches more than 250 families each month through the program.

“The Food Security program is an integral part of Seattle Children’s system-wide health equity and anti-racism work. We’re dedicated to reducing health disparities and improving lives, with a vision of children achieving optimal health and well-being, including food security,” said Dr. Jeffrey Ojemann, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Seattle Children’s Hospital. “We recognize that systemic racism is the root cause of social health inequities, and that we must confront a racist food system that we all depend on daily. That’s why our focus applies a trauma-informed care lens to the intersection of food insecurity, poverty and racism—three traumas around which patients and families experience significant vulnerabilities.”

Boston Children’s Hospital

Funding from Rite Aid Healthy Futures supports the hospital’s Family Food Connections program, which operates within the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments public housing development. About 250 families use the program each day, selecting an array of fresh produce, pantry staples and other nutritious foods. Family Food Connections also provides cooking classes and nutrition education. Recent funding has supported expansions, such as hiring bilingual staff members, growing neighborhood pantries and further advocating on the policy level. Ranked as the top children’s hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for nine consecutive years, Boston Children’s Hospital serves a state where an estimated 21% of households with children are food insecure.

Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

The aftermath of the pandemic, inflation and the growing adolescent mental health crisis in Baltimore has created an increased need for food in the community. In response, Johns Hopkins has continued to screen patients for social needs and guides them to appropriate community resources, such as the WIC and SNAP programs. Funding from Healthy Futures allowed the Hopkins Community Connection team at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to sustain its food pantry program at three Baltimore locations and evaluate its impact throughout the clinic and community. The hospital also will begin its Hungry Harvest produce home delivery expansion in 2023, as well as extend efforts to deepen relationships with other local organizations that address the root cause of food insecurity.