Hundreds of bags of fresh food were given away to Advocate South Suburban Hospital patients at All Nations Community Church in Homewood on the afternoon of Thursday, Dec. 8. The bags were prepared by 35 Old National Bank employees. The food drive was part of Advocate’s ongoing Living Food Farmacy program.
Yellow, cloth bags with the Old National Bank logo sat on tables both inside and outside of the church. Advocate patients participating in the food drive were able to receive food such as beans, stuffing, celery, oranges, mangoes, sweet potatoes, bananas and a roasting chicken, Food Farmacy coordinator Melinda Harville said.
Melinda Harville and Food Farmacy health educator Khaila Franklin (right) outside All Nations Community Church during
Thursday’s food drive. (Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
“Our food bags that we’re distributing out today are for our patients who have been referred to this program by our physicians or a staff member from Advocate,” Harville said, adding that they’re patients that “participate in one of our programs like our Hypertension Initiative program or our … Diabetes Prevention Program.”
The program Food Farmacy was started four years ago at Advocate Trinity Hospital on the southeast side of Chicago, Harville said. She said the area the hospital serviced was found to have more cases of diabetes than both the national average and Cook County’s average. Food Farmacy was started to combat this inequity, Harville said.
Food Farmacy was extended to Advocate South Suburban last year. Harville said food drives were originally at South Suburban but were moved to All Nations Community Church last month to accommodate more patients. She said All Nations’ pastor works at Advocate Trinity and volunteered a partnership.
South Suburban’s food distribution days are typically every second and fourth Thursday of the month, Harville said.
“But it’s the holiday time, so we are back-to-back with this week and next week,” Harville said, adding that that the next food drive will be on Dec. 15 rather than Dec. 22.
At the food drive, a giant $15,000 check from Old National Bank made out to Food Farmacy was displayed. The donation was made on Oct. 27.
“We gave out 200 hundred turkeys during Thanksgiving time. That donation went for that as well,” Harville said.
Old National Bank and Food Farmacy Coordinator Melinda Harville hold up
the $15,000 check donated by Old National Bank. (Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
Harville said the “generous donation” has allowed Advocate to expand the program and the amount of food given away. She said after Food Farmacy received the donation, she felt “elated’ and “like a kid on Christmas.”
“It rung joy to my heart that someone is recognizing that this program needs this. Because we need to get this program going to help our patients,” she said.
Thirty-five Old National Bank employees spent much of the morning packing up bags and filling boxes with different food products before the participating patients arrived.
“We wanted to give back to the communities where we have a presence and help out organizations and individuals of need.” said Robert Kelly, director of Business Banking and market president at Old National Bank.
“Not all of our patients have the financial means to buy all of these items, especially now since the economy is going the way that it’s going. These items are expensive,” Harville said. “Some of the patients are coming to me and saying ‘without this program, I would’ve have been able to do this’ because groceries are high.”