Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Sodexo Launch New Program to Address Food Insecurity With Emergency Food Kits
GAITHERSBURG, Md., February 25, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) and its food management partner Sodexo are stepping up to address increasing food insecurity concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a new program patients determined to have food insecurity will be provided access to registered dietitians while in the hospital, then provided emergency food kits, resources and assistance once discharged.
As part of the program all patients are screened for food insecurity upon admission using the Hunger Vital Signs™ two-question screening tool. Once patients are identified as food insecure, a trigger is sent to the registered dietitians or nurses and the patient is offered an emergency food kit. The nutritious food kit also includes local and federal food assistance resources and a recipe book to help patients use food provided once discharged to help maintain a well-balanced diet. When appropriate, a non-food-related resources guide is also provided.
Additional programs at TMH, managed in partnership with Sodexo and the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Foundation, help hospital staff who may be experiencing food insecurity. These programs source from local farmers or other community-supported efforts to provide hospital employees with a fresh bag of produce, non-perishable foods and a recipe card during the pandemic.
Sodexo is also addressing food insecurity through its non-profit organization Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. The foundation mobilizes experts, innovators, volunteers and donors to feed children in the U.S. today and advocates for policies that ensure no child is hungry again tomorrow. Since its inception in 1999, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has granted more than $34.5 million to alleviate child hunger.
About Sodexo North America
At Sodexo Healthcare we build trusted partnerships with health systems to support their care delivery mission. Leveraging science, insights and imagination, we provide solutions and contribute essential non-clinical services wherever care is delivered, to enhance patients’ and caregivers’ experience while improving our clients’ financial health. Sodexo Healthcare’s 35,000 employees provide human-centered care with food and nutrition, environmental and clinical engineering services that support healthcare teams and overall operations at over 1,500 sites in the United States.
Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 64 countries. Sodexo is a leading provider of integrated food, facilities management and other services that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life for millions of customers in corporate, education, healthcare, senior living, sports and leisure, government and other environments daily. The company employs 160,000 people at 13,500 sites in all 50 U.S. states and Canada, and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs through its annual purchases of $17B in goods and services from small to large businesses. Sodexo is committed to supporting diversity and inclusion and safety, while upholding the highest standards of corporate responsibility and ethical business conduct. In support of local communities across the U.S., in 2019, the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation mobilized 37,000 Sodexo volunteers to distribute 3.2 million meals to help 2.3 million children and adults meet their immediate food needs. Since 1996, the Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed $34.5 million to help feed children in America impacted by hunger. To learn more about Sodexo, visit us.sodexo.com and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
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