UH Cleveland Medical Center Opens Food for Life Market
August 30, 2021
CLEVELAND – University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center has opened its third Food for Life Market in four years. The market, in the Bolwell Center of UH Cleveland Medical Center, provides healthful foods and nutrition education for patients who struggle with access to nutritious food.
The program addresses food insecurity and the medical conditions, including chronic health conditions, that are impacted by nutrition and access to healthy food. The market is stocked with a variety of nutritious foods, including whole grains, dairy, fresh and frozen
produce, canned fruits, vegetables, and meat products.
“The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the structural systems of oppression in our country, only compound the disproportionate risk of food insecurity for our Black and Brown neighbors. University Hospitals understands that addressing these social determinants of health will have greater impact on the overall health outcomes of our community than the actual treatment of disease,” says Celina Cunanan, MSN, APRN-CNM, who serves as Interim Executive Director of UH's Office of Community Impact, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Patients at UH Cleveland Medical Center identified as food insecure will receive a referral from their health care provider to visit the UH Food for Life Market. If they meet the requirements, they will receive healthy food at no cost, as well as a one-on-one consultation with a registered dietitian. Healthy recipes, meal preparation tips and cooking demonstrations will also be offered.
"Since the opening of UH's first Food for Life Market at the UH Otis Moss Health Center in Fairfax, to the opening of our second market at UH Portage Medical Center in Ravenna, we have provided more than 95,000 pounds of food to 5,000 patients and their families," says Anne Leach, Director of Clinical and Community Nutrition for UH.
Alice McCoy is already a patient at the new market and says she loves the fresh food as well as recipes that help her prepare it in healthful ways. She lives alone but often cooks for her grandkids. "This teaches them how important food is to our health. It helps keep my blood sugar numbers down, too," she says.
UH opened the first Food for Life Market, housed within the Otis Moss, Jr. Health Center, in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood in October 2018. The area had been designated a food desert, defined as an impoverished area with limited access to a grocery store, by Cuyahoga County Board of Health's Creating Healthy Communities program and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. A second Food for Life Market opened at UH Portage Medical Center in February 2021 and has served 90 households so far.
The UH Cleveland Medical Center location will initially be open Monday through Friday with appointments encouraged.