A new food pantry has opened in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Pediatric Primary Care Center in the city’s Avondale neighborhood.
Before each appointment at the clinic, patients are asked via questionnaire if they’ve been concerned about running out of food before they received the money or SNAP benefits to purchase more—of if they’ve run out of food before. If the patient or patient’s parent answers yes, the clinic will provide food to the family.
“We think of food as a medicine,” said Cincinnati Children’s Hospital professor of pediatrics Melissa Klein to WCPO Cincinnati. “If you’re not getting proper nutrition, you can’t concentrate in school. … You can’t reach your utmost potential.”
The pantry was created through a partnership between Freestore Foodbank, Kroger grocery stores, Christ Church Cathedral and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.