Fresh produce giveaway grows into food safety net

A new collaboration between Einstein Medical Center and Philabundance aims to alleviate food insecurity in the city.

Philabundance partnered with Einstein to distribute free, fresh vegetables to residents on a weekly basis through its Fresh For All program.

As music played in the background, more than 150 residents lined up Thursday morning outside of Einstein Medical Center to fill their bags with avocados, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce and potatoes.

Brenda Jessie, a resident from the city’s Germantown section, was among those who received a bag of vegetables. She was visiting a clinic when she was informed about the food distribution near the hospital at 5501 Old York Road.

“A lot of people have been cut off of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). For them to do this for this area is awesome because people need help,“ she said.

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) helped pass out produce and saw how Fresh For All was benefiting residents.

“Food insecurity is a national problem and sometimes people don’t understand how severe it really is,“ said Evans, who advocates in Washington, D.C., for improving access to fresh food.

People at risk of food insecurity face the tough choice of having to pay for basic necessities such as housing or buying food.

Evans supports the collaboration with Philabundance, as the Einstein program has distributed more than 30,000 pounds of produce and served upwards of 1,200 families since March.

“While I fight the fight in Washington to make sure people understand about food insecurities and food deserts, it is nice to have partners like this that are on the front line,“ Evans said.

The congressman says he has been fighting to protect SNAP funding, which the Trump administration has proposed cuts of $213 billion to the program over a decade. Approximately 500,000 Philadelphians are currently receiving SNAP.

Evans noted that about 1.8 million people in Pennsylvania have food insecurities, including 500,000 in Philadelphia.

The partnership with Philabundance aims to help improve health outcomes for Einstein patients and families living near the medical center.

“We like partnering with health care institutions as well as organizations that are doing more than just give out food, because we know that hunger is a symptom of poverty and to truly help someone move out of poverty you have to be addressing their other needs,“ said Emma Kornetsky, manager of government affairs at Philabundance.

Joan Boyce, senior director for government relations and senior affairs at Einstein, said the hospital cared about addressing the social determinants of health.

According to Einstein’s 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment, 37 percent of families in the hospital’s service area are living in households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level, which ranges from $12,140 for an individual to $42,380 for a family of eight.

“Food insecurity is one the highest issues that we face in this community,“ Boyce said. “Because it affects your health so much this is one of the issues that Einstein has chosen that we really need to have an impact on.“

People who are food insecure are sicker and need more health care, resulting in higher health care spending.

Einstein is one of seven Philadelphia-area health systems partnering with community organizations, public health departments and insurers on a Healthy Food Access Pilot aimed at addressing food insecurity in the region. Staff at participating hospitals screen at-risk patients and connect them with community partners that can help with things like SNAP enrollment.

As of April, 6,777 patients have been screened, with 24 percent being referred for food insecurity assistance, including for SNAP benefits.

Einstein distributes free produce from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursdays at Tabor Road and Park Avenue, about a block south of the SEPTA bus terminal at Broad Street and Olney Avenue.