Health and hunger are closely connected. Food insecurity makes a person more likely to develop a chronic disease and makes it harder to manage disease. Not being able to access healthy and nutritious food, or any food at all, can lead to disease complications, missing doses of important medication, and needing to be hospitalized. All of these factors affect an individual or family’s quality of life and make health care more expensive.

Hospital-Based Food Pantries

Through a partnership with Good Shepherd Food Bank, MaineHealth opened food pantries on the campuses of Franklin Memorial Hospital and Stephens Memorial Hospital in 2021. The goal is to help more people access healthy food and to improve the health of people in our local communities. “As there is a broad need for food resources in our service area, we believe it is natural for us to collaborate with community partners – including other pantries – to support and supplement existing work,” said Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH, Chief Health Improvement Officer at MaineHealth.

By offering fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable foods, MaineHealth can provide a resource for those in need of reliable access to food that supports their health and wellbeing. The food pantries are ultimately part of MaineHealth services as a health care organization, and are a natural part of its continuum of care.

In 2019, the overall county food insecurity rate for Franklin County was 11.8 percent, according to Feeding America. Though pantry resources are initially only available to Franklin Community Health Network (FCHN) patients and care team members as workflows, ordering practices, and onsite support are determined, the Franklin Pantry will soon be open to the public.

One care team member who visits the pantry said, “Having access to the food pantry has been an encouragement during an unpredictable time. Having a young family and the many strains that come with a single income has its challenges. It’s great to have a resource like the food pantry.”

Healthy Communities

While unique in being Maine’s first hospital-based food pantry, the Franklin Pantry has been innovative with its partnerships with local farms like Berry Fruit Farm and Rustic Roots, as well as local school gardens that offer their surplus in fresh vegetables to community members who need them.

A pantry client recently said, “I’m so happy the food pantry is available to me.  I have lost a lot of weight over the last year. I feel really good and want to continue. I always felt silly saying ‘no’ to certain foods that were given to me at other pantries, so I would take the whole box. I feel that is wasteful. Here I am able to continue my weight loss journey with the fresh produce and healthier food choices. I’m not being wasteful and I feel supported.”

Food pantry program management specialist Erica Ingrisano stocks the shelves and coolers with fresh produce, meat and soy proteins, multi-grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and vegetable-based soup, among other healthy options.