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Feed the Love Meal Expansion Project
Tackling Food Insecurity at Bay Area Children’s Hospitals
Our Ronald McDonald Houses and in-hospital programs have been a reliable source of thousands of meals for families every year. Still, the problem of food insecurity in our children’s hospitals looms larger.
Background
For more than 40 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities Bay Area has been keeping sick children and their families together near the care and resources they need. We started with two small Ronald McDonald Houses – 13 rooms across the street from Stanford and later ten rooms near Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. From there, we have continually evolved, growing alongside hospital partners and adapting to changes in healthcare, demographics, and family needs.
In reality, we’ve become more than Ronald McDonald House – we’ve become an entire neighborhood of support. And while our brick-and-mortar House programs will always be at the center, we know there are opportunities to reach even more families by thinking beyond our walls.
Food Insecurity Research Demonstrates the Need to Expand
An RMHC Bay Area Partnership with Stanford School of Medicine
In partnership with Stanford researchers, RMHC Bay Area initiated a study revealing what our front-line staff members have seen for years — food insecurity for families with children in the hospital is an underrecognized crisis. With jobs on hold and lives upended, far too many parents and caregivers struggle to afford to feed their families or access food during hospital stays that can last weeks and months.
With 71% of study respondents reporting that they had yet to use our existing Feed the Love meal program services, we know there is a need to expand.
``If I’m not able to eat properly, I’m not able to make the proper decisions. I can’t process information. I’m thinking about food or when I’m going to eat, and her care is going to be affected.``
Feed the Love Meal Expansion: Project Overview
Our Goal: Double the number of Feed the Love meals provided annually over the next three years
Currently, we serve 93,000 meals to families inside or nearby our partner hospitals each year. Our existing Feed the Love Meal Program allows caregivers to focus on supporting their sick children’s medical treatments. In addition to reducing hours caregivers need to spend on worrying about when and where they and patients’ siblings will eat during hospitalizations, our meal program puts more than $1.4 million in meal expenses back into the pockets of caregivers as they cope with the overwhelming experience of having a child in the hospital.
Our Feed the Love Meal Expansion Project aims to double the impact of our food programs served. By expanding, we aim to offset nearly $3 million in meal costs for caregivers annually, as well as and reduce the stress and time associated with accessing food during their children’s hospital stays, so they can devote their resources to focusing on what matters most — their sick child.
“I can’t go out to buy food or to eat because I have to be here, alert for his care, in case the doctor comes.”
Additionally, we want to continue exploring new ways to support families through food access, including:
- Partnering with food access leaders and organizations across the Bay Area that are tackling food insecurity experienced by children and families
- Growing the number and impact of our in-hospital food programs, including offering hospital-based meals at every major children’s hospital in the Bay Area
- Identifying ways our meal program can support caregivers’ ability to meet their own and children’s nutritional needs, e.g., “food pharmacies” and grocery programs on discharge, caregiver nutrition education, and referrals to long-term food access resources
- Understanding “food as love” — the psychosocial and cultural impact of providing food to families experiencing a child’s medical crisis
Interested in supporting our Feed the Love Meal Expansion Project?
Please email Nicole Williams, senior director of development and marketing, at nicole.williams@rmhcbayarea.org.
Overview of Current Meal Programs
How to Get Involved:
- Cook a megaBITES meal: Groups of 6-8 can cook and serve a warm lunch or dinner for 150 caregivers and children at RMH Stanford.
- Become a Pantry Pal Sponsor: By making a $10,000 Pantry Pal donation, you can help fund an entire month’s worth of pantry supplies to feed families in medical crisis. To learn more and become a Pantry Pal sponsor, please contact Jay McCullough, vice president of philanthropy, at jay.mccullough@rmhcbayarea.org or 650.470.6005.
- Comfort & Care Kits: Rally your team and community to create Care Kits, including snack packs, that we deliver to families at the hospital through our Happy Wheels bedside visit program. Learn more about Comfort & Care group volunteering, which can be conducted onsite at RMH Stanford or offsite and dropped off. We go through thousands of kits every quarter, and a snack goes a long way for families unable or unwilling to leave their child’s bedside.
Stanford
Program Design: Our 123-bedroom Ronald McDonald House at Stanford is one of the largest housing programs in the global RMH system. We provide continental breakfast and prepared dinner every night for 200-300 caregivers and children staying at the House. Additionally, we offer prepared lunches when we have a sponsored megaBITES meal group, as well as provide a stocked pantry of staple food items for families to cook their own meals using our 24-hour family kitchens. Pantries and 24-hour kitchens are located in both Taube Family Center and Arrillaga Family Center located on the 100,000 square-foot RMH Stanford campus; food is provided by our generous community of Pantry Pal Sponsors, as well as through our partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, which allows us to distribute 90,000+ pounds of food annually to families in medical crisis.
Beyond those caregivers and children who live at the Stanford House during treatment, our Stanford Day Pass Program is open to any family receiving treatments at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. Day Pass families can access our meal programs, family kitchens, and community pantries between the hours of 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. In a typical year, we receive an average of 1,500 Day Pass visits. Families at the hospital are able to take the free shuttle, which operates every 15 minutes, from the main entrance of Packard Children’s to RMH Stanford.
Partner Hospital: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
San Francisco
Program Design: Our in-hospital Feed the Love meal program operates inside UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. RMHC Bay Area staff serve lunch and dinner every weekday to any family member at the hospital. Meals are distributed steps away from patient care in the Center for Families. Due to on-going health restrictions, meal groups and volunteers are not yet authorized to return to our in-hospital program. In addition to prepared weekday meals, we distribute thousands of snack packs to families who are unable or unwilling to leave their children in the hospital. In 2022, we served nearly 29,000 meals to San Francisco families.
Partner Hospital: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco (Mission Bay)
How to Get Involved:
- Sponsor a Feed the Love meal: Contact Mallory Mroz, community and corporate engagement manager, at mallory.mroz@rmhcbayarea.org to sponsor lunch or dinner for families at the hospital. Sponsorship levels range from $600 – $1,200 depending on current needs and food costs. Local restaurants, caterers, and other food providers can also donate prepared meals (75-120 portions depending on selected meal service).
- Become a Pantry Pal Sponsor: By making a $10,000 Pantry Pal donation, you can help fund an entire month’s worth of meal supplies to feed families in medical crisis. To learn more and become a Pantry Pal sponsor, please contact Jay McCullough, vice president of philanthropy, at jay.mccullough@rmhcbayarea.org or 650.470.6005.
- Comfort & Care Kits: Rally your team and community to create Care Kits, including snack packs, that we deliver to families at the hospital through our Happy Wheels bedside visit program. Learn more about Comfort & Care group volunteering, which can be conducted onsite at our regional headquarters or at a local offsite location in San Francisco and dropped off. We go through thousands of kits every quarter, and a snack goes a long way for families unable or unwilling to leave their child’s bedside.
How to Get Involved:
- Sponsor a Feed the Love meal: Contact Mallory Mroz, community and corporate engagement manager, at mallory.mroz@rmhcbayarea.org to sponsor lunch or dinner for families at the hospital. Sponsorship levels range from $600 – $1,200 depending on current needs and food costs. Local restaurants, caterers, and other food providers can also donate prepared meals (75-120 portions depending on selected meal service).
- Become a Pantry Pal Sponsor: By making a $10,000 Pantry Pal donation, you can help fund an entire month’s worth of meal supplies to feed families in medical crisis. To learn more and become a Pantry Pal sponsor, please contact Jay McCullough, vice president of philanthropy, at jay.mccullough@rmhcbayarea.org or 650.470.6005.
- Comfort & Care Kits: Rally your team and community to create Care Kits, including snack packs, that we deliver to families at the hospital through our Happy Wheels bedside visit program. Learn more about Comfort & Care group volunteering, which can be conducted onsite at our regional headquarters or at a local offsite location in San Francisco and dropped off. We go through thousands of kits every quarter, and a snack goes a long way for families unable or unwilling to leave their child’s bedside.
San Francisco
Program Design: Our in-hospital Feed the Love meal program operates inside UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco. RMHC Bay Area staff serve lunch and dinner every weekday to any family member at the hospital. Meals are distributed steps away from patient care in the Center for Families. Due to on-going health restrictions, meal groups and volunteers are not yet authorized to return to our in-hospital program. In addition to prepared weekday meals, we distribute thousands of snack packs to families who are unable or unwilling to leave their children in the hospital. In 2022, we served nearly 29,000 meals to San Francisco families.
Partner Hospital: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco (Mission Bay)
How to Get Involved:
- Sponsor a Feed the Love meal: Contact Mallory Mroz, community and corporate engagement manager, at mallory.mroz@rmhcbayarea.org to sponsor lunch or dinner for families at the hospital. Sponsorship levels range from $600 – $1,200 depending on current needs and food costs. Local restaurants, caterers, and other food providers can also donate prepared meals (75-120 portions depending on selected meal service). Sign up for Feed the Love Oakland by clicking here.
- Become a Pantry Pal Sponsor: By making a $10,000 Pantry Pal donation, you can help fund an entire month’s worth of meal supplies to feed families in medical crisis. To learn more and become a Pantry Pal sponsor, please contact Jay McCullough, vice president of philanthropy, at jay.mccullough@rmhcbayarea.org or 650.470.6005.
- Comfort & Care Kits: Rally your team and community to create Care Kits, including snack packs, that we deliver to families at the hospital through our Happy Wheels bedside visit program. Learn more about Comfort & Care group volunteering, which can be conducted onsite at our regional headquarters or at a local offsite location in Oakland and dropped off. We go through thousands of kits every quarter, and a snack goes a long way for families unable or unwilling to leave their child’s bedside.
Oakland
Program Design: Our in-hospital Feed the Love meal program operates inside UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. RMHC Bay Area staff serve lunch and dinner every weekday to any family member at the hospital. Meals are distributed steps away from patient care in the Family Resource and Information Center. In addition to prepared weekday meals, we distribute thousands of snack packs to families who are unable or unwilling to leave their children in the hospital. With the establishment of our new Ronald McDonald House Oakland in 2023, we also provide prepared meals and food pantry items to any family staying in our lodging program, located directly across the street from BCH Oakland, which serves highly immunocompromised children recovering from bone marrow and stem transplants. We are also launching a Day Pass program, which will provide access to snacks and food items to any family at the hospital. In 2022, we served nearly 33,000 meals to Oakland families.
Partner Hospital: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
Check out how our Oakland Meal Program got started!
Read the full story: Hungry Families Are Sick Families blog article