The FOOD Program at MSK has helped improve the health and well-being of patients who are food insecure.
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The FOOD program at MSK is a program that provides food supplementation to people who are food insecure while they're getting their cancer treatment. At comprehensive cancer centers, 18 to 30 percent of people are food insecure. They don't have enough to eat, or they don't have enough food to give their families. This is a way for us to address that while also being able to come for their cancer care.
We’ve got some sardines or some tuna fish.
Tuna fish, please.
Tuna fish, awesome.
I learned about the food pantry from my aftercare specialist in 2017, and ever since then, every week I’ve been coming to pick up the food.
I came also with my wife, both of us, we are patients. I didn’t have any kind of income at that time, so I was really concerned about what kind of food I was going to provide to my family.
It gives me less stress about how I can manage to eat properly. It has been a big, big help.
This is the 10 year anniversary of the food pantry. I had no anticipation that it would grow, that it would be so big. We now have 14 food pantries, and during COVID, the number of patients needing food and the number of meals we delivered has grown exponentially. In the last year alone, we served over 1,000 patients with over 100,000 meal equivalents.
With regular spaghetti and one of the ...
The elbows.
If you are food insecure, you are significantly more likely to miss appointments and not complete your treatment. When we bring the pantry in, almost a hundred percent of the patients now complete their treatment.
It’s cut me down on carbs. I lost a little weight — it helps improve my health overall.
I see the results; my body is getting back in shape again. I never have a day without food on my table.
During their cancer treatment there is so much going on for them. And to be able to take this worry, this burden away from them, is so gratifying and so important.
All I can say is that it is a God blessing for many people, including me. The way it is run is perfect because they make you feel welcome.
It’s always a pleasure to see you.
Have a wonderful weekend, okay?
You too.