AKRON, Ohio — With the cost of groceries continuously increasing, food pantries have stayed busy. At Cleveland Clinic Akron General, the hospital has prioritized making sure its patients have access to food. So last year, with food from the Akron Food Bank, hospital staff opened their first food pantry, and now they have expanded it to the hospital's Women's Health Center.
The role food plays in everyday life is immeasurable, and the burden if you can't get it is one that the hospital understands.
"People experiencing food insecurity are more likely to have chronic diseases. So that means these people are more likely to be at our hospital, and they might not disclose that they need food," said Morgan Stocker, the food pantry coordinator for Cleveland Clinic Akron General.
To help patients get the food they need, they have expanded their food pantries inside their hospitals at the women's health center. The patients are referred by doctors and then offered the service.
"We are making it a point to ask our patients what they're experiencing and how we can help. And now they can leave with food from their doctor's appointments," said Stocker.
Inside the pantry, patients will find whole food products, meats, cheese and anything else they need. They are given a Cleveland Clinic bag purposely to hide what's in it.
"So not everyone needs to know that there's food in here," Megan Black, multisite office manager for Cleveland Clinic Akron General Partners Physicians' Group.
According to the clinic, in Summit County, 13% of their patients face food insecurity. Through the first pantry that was opened last year, they were able to feed 4,000 people and hope to provide more through the expansion. The goal is to break the stigmas attached to food pantries.
"It's not a basement. It's not set up once a month for people; they're not waiting in a line. They just walk into a nice, clean, welcoming environment and leave with food," said Stocker.
They teach people there's no shame when getting assistance, especially with something as necessary for your health as food.
"They're always worried about if I can't provide this for my family. What does that look like? So here, it doesn't look like anything. It looks like we can help you," said Black.
Because at the Cleveland Clinic, the needs of patients go beyond the hospital rooms.
"Most of us got into health care because we wanted to help people. So not just necessarily with their health needs, but with their social needs," said Black.
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