Hospital-Based Food Pantries

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Use of Hospital-Based Food Pantries Among Low-Income Urban Cancer Patients
In 2012, about 15% of American households were food insecure. Food insecurity is not necessarily just a problem for individuals with low-income or low access to food. Food insecurity has been an increasingly prominent problem for the medically ill-- those individuals who may have to choose between medical treatment and food. Food insecurity is associated with poor adherence to recommended medical treatment, delayed medical care, and an inability to afford medications. Nutrition that is inadequate has been shown to result in fatigue, stress, immunosuppression, and more, all of which are exacerbated in the cancer patient. Cancer patients are especially susceptible to food insecurity because of both the nature of the disease and the intensive treatment that is required. Malnutrition is common among cancer patients, and can cause even more problems for the cancer patient including delayed wound healing after surgery, additional morbidities, and potentially mortality. One way to help reduce the incidence of food insecurity and potentially malnutrition among cancer patients is to implement a hospital-based food pantry. This pantry would be geared towards the cancer patient, and serves as a way to provide food directly to the patient. This eliminates the need for additional transportation to another site. In this study, food products were provided to pantry participants on a weekly basis, and included shelf-stable products such as rice, pasta, tuna, and canned beans. This study found that being an immigrant and having later stage cancer resulted in a greater number of pantry visits. Older patients with prostate cancer were also more likely to visit the pantries more often. Further studies could gain valuable data by focusing on particularly vulnerable groups, like undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for food assistance programs such as SNAP.


Gany, F., Lee, T., Loeb, R., Ramirez, J., Moran, A., Crist, M., ... & Leng, J. C. (2015). Use      of Hospital-Based Food Pantries Among Low-Income Urban Cancer            Patients. Journal of community health, 40(6), 1193-1200.

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