A recent
article in
Kaiser Health News highlighted a distinctive program at the
Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), in which patients are given food as well as immunizations and prescriptions.
HCMC's pediatric clinic offers a food pantry, one of only a few in the nation that's hospital-based. The pantry, now in its third year of operation, grew out of project that focused on encouraging families to include more fruits and vegetables in their diets.
Kaiser's article also noted that the pantry is able to serve more families by delivering food rather than running the pantry out of a single space at the facility.