Published April 29, 2025
There is the saying, “giving is caring and caring is giving.”
As part of the #GiveHealthy Movement, Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) participated in the healthy food drive again this year. There were fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy food items to help hunger organizations throughout the state and region during winter months when donations are fewer.
Donating food to food drives is one of the most popular forms of giving in the United States. More people donate food than watch the Super Bowl each year, a great display of the public’s interest in supporting one of the most pressing social issues – hunger. However, traditional food drives are limited to non-perishable donations, often highly processed, nutrient deficient food.
“Hunger and food insecurity are one of the highest needs of the patients that come into our hospital and our ambulatory sites,” said Darcy Cobbs-Lomax, executive director of the Office of Health Equity and Community Impact.
Volunteers from Yale New Haven Health and other organizations came together to help bag groceries for families in need.
#GiveHealthy is an organization that provides an online platform for hunger- relief organizations to set up “registries” listing items they need. YNHHS employees, departments and medical staff supported one or more hunger-relief organizations in YNHHS delivery networks’ communities.
The food was shipped from suppliers directly to hunger-relief organizations and donors purchased healthy food items, including fresh produce.
According to the United Way of Greater New Haven, one in six kids in Connecticut struggle with hunger. In New Haven, during winter and spring breaks, families of students stretch their budgets to make up for the missed meals while students are out of school. In addition, food insecurity rose nearly 30 percent in 2024.
“The 42 million plus people struggling with food insecurity also face high rates of diet related health issues – things like obesity, diabetes, cancer – due to a lack of access to healthy food. A lot of food that gets donated worsens these health conditions. What was needed were healthy food donations and that was our goal from the beginning,” said Augusta Mueller, community benefit manager, Yale New Haven Health.
This year’s drive, which ran March 1 – 31 coincided with National Nutrition Month. The donated food translated into nearly 18,300 meals for people in need throughout Connecticut, in Westerly, RI, and Port Chester, NY.
Yale New Haven Health donated nearly $5,300 pounds of food which is worth approximately $10,000.
Robert Bunnell, a volunteer with Comcast, has three children himself. He said the mission is personal to him.
“It’s a very humbling experience. It’s just awesome to be here and give back and really understand what you’re doing and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Bunnell.
The initiative was organized through a collaboration among YNHHS’ Office of Health Equity & Community Impact, Community and Government Relations, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, Employee Wellbeing, and Food and Nutrition.
