Advocate Health Care unites hospitals to address food insecurity

CHICAGO – Advocate Health Care launched a new cross-county initiative to reduce food insecurity – and improve health outcomes – for patients in need across its Illinois hospital campuses.

Advocate’s Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington recently sent heads of lettuce and bunches of kale harvested from its two-acre Smart Farm directly to in-need patients of Advocate Trinity Hospital, located on Chicago’s South Side. The delivery was large enough to support almost 200 families.

“Everyone deserves access to fresh food that tastes good,” Chris Cubberly, farm manager at the Smart Farm, said in a news release. “We harvested these vegetables yesterday morning, and today, they’re in the hands of people and families who need them.”

The Smart Farm will deliver fresh produce to Advocate Trinity’s Food Farmacy on the South Side every other week through the growing season. The produce will change seasonally and each biweekly delivery will be informed by what Food Farmacy users said they need most.

By creating greater access to locally grown produce using organic practices, Advocate aims to close the health disparity gap among South Chicago area patients who experience disproportionately high rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. An estimated 40% of health outcomes are influenced by social determinants of health, including food insecurity.

“Health care shouldn’t stop when you leave the four walls of your doctor’s office or the hospital,” said Dr. Julie Taylor, a family medicine physician who refers patients to the Food Farmacy. “As health care providers, we need to look at and support our patients through the many, smaller decisions made each day that impact our wellness today and shape what our health will look like in the future.”

The new multi-hospital collaboration builds upon Advocate Good Shepherd’s farm-to-patient efforts to assist the 10% of northern Illinois’ residents who are at risk of food insecurity. Recent Community Impact Reports show 13% of South Chicago area residents at-risk of food insecurity.

“Last growing season, we grew more than eight tons of fresh produce, which is enough for more than 14,500 meals,” said Chloe Goodman, an administrative fellow at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital and project leader. “Offering fresh produce helps us address the root causes of illness, support patients managing chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease where diet plays a big role and move toward prevention.”