In April, Yale New Haven Health employees joined volunteers from community organizations to fill bags for the School Break Groceries initiative. The bags, which included items donated through the YNHHS #GiveHealthy food drive, were donated to families of New Haven Public School students.
Hundreds of Yale New Haven Health employees and medical staff members donated 16,450 pounds of food to hunger-relief organizations during the health system’s fifth #GiveHealthy online food drive.
The drive, which ran March 1 - 31 to coincide with National Nutrition Month, also included a leadership match. The donated food translates into 13,708 meals for people experiencing food insecurity throughout Connecticut and in Westerly, RI, and Port Chester, NY.
The drive was conducted through #GiveHealthy, an organization that provides an online platform for hunger-relief organizations to set up “registries” listing items they need. Because the food is shipped from suppliers directly to hunger-relief organizations, donors could purchase fresh produce.
“Once again our employees have given generously,” said Darcey Cobbs-Lomax, executive director, YNHHS Office of Health Equity and Community Impact. “Their online donations were used to purchase fresh produce and shelf-stable items that are distributed into the community.”
One beneficiary is the Coordinated Food Assistance Network, a multi-organization collaboration led by United Way of Greater New Haven (UWGNH). Since April 2022, a small collection of network members has run the School Break Groceries initiative, distributing up to 1,200 bags of groceries to families of New Haven Public School students during week-long breaks throughout the school year. This was the second year Yale New Haven Hospital, through its #GiveHealthy drive, supplied bags that included the fresh fruits and vegetables so many families request, said Mike Degen, community impact manager, Knowledge Management, UWGNH.
“We are grateful for this partnership and always look forward to working with the team at YNHH in this community effort,” he said.
The YNHHS #GiveHealthy drive is a collaboration among the Office of Health Equity & Community Impact, Community and Government Relations, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, Employee Wellbeing, and Food and Nutrition.
