Home Our Diocese St. Francis Healthcare enters partnership to help fight food insecurity in Delaware

St. Francis Healthcare enters partnership to help fight food insecurity in Delaware

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Customers visit the fruit and vegetables department of a grocery store in Brussels Sept. 4, 2014. (CNS photo/Eric Vidal, Reuters)

WILMINGTON — St. Francis Healthcare’s Community Health and Well-Being Department has partnered with Cornerstone West Community Development Corp., Bright Spot Farms and the Village Tree to provide fresh produce to patients with diabetes and community members facing food insecurity, according to Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, St. Francis’ parent company.

Each week, patients enroll to pick up produce at St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington. For those unable to travel, the hospital delivers to their homes. St. Francis Healthcare shares half of its weekly produce donations from Bright Spot Farms with the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington.

“Saint Francis Healthcare has a long-standing commitment to supporting the health needs of community members in Delaware,” said Ebony Brown, director of Community Health and Well-Being and Mission Integration at Saint Francis Healthcare. “Through collaboration with our community partners, we have increased access to healthy food options and helped reduce food insecurity for our neighbors.”

Cornerstone West and the Village Tree also are planning virtual gardening education sessions to educate people about growing their own produce at home and about healthy cooking options.

For more information about St. Francis Healthcare, go to www.trinityhealthma.org. To volunteer at or to learn more about Cornerstone West CDC, go to www.westsidegrows.org.