With generous support from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Unity Health Care and the Capital Area Food Bank will launch a new food pharmacy program.
______________________________________________________________________________
Washington, D.C., June 4th, 2024 –Unity Health Care and the Capital Area Food Bank are thrilled to announce they have been selected to receive a $5 million, 5-year grant from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. This generous funding will be utilized to launch an innovative new food pharmacy program at Unity’s East of the River and Anacostia health center locations.
The food pharmacy program aims to address food insecurity among older adults with hypertension or diabetes, who face significant health disparities in our community. Through this initiative, eligible individuals will have access to nutritious food options tailored to their dietary needs, helping to improve their overall health outcomes and quality of life.
“We are deeply grateful to The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation for their generous support and commitment to improving the health and well-being of our community in critical ways,” said Dr. Jessica Henderson Boyd, President and CEO of Unity Health Care. “This grant will enable us to launch a transformative program that directly addresses the social determinants of health that disproportionately affect many of our patients.”
The food pharmacy program will be implemented in collaboration with the Capital Area Food Bank, a trusted partner dedicated to addressing hunger and many of its root causes in the DC metropolitan area. “We’re thrilled to partner with Unity Health Care to make nutritious, medically tailored groceries available and accessible for more people in our community,” said Radha Muthiah, CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “By working together, we’re combining our respective expertise at nutritious food distribution and medical care to help more of our underserved neighbors improve and maintain their health, making a significant impact on their ability to thrive today and in the future.”
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation expressed enthusiasm for the partnership and its potential to create positive change. “We are immensely proud to support Unity Health Care and the Capital Area Food Bank in their efforts to combat food insecurity and improve health outcomes, which will ultimately create healthier, more equitable communities in our city,” said Mieka Wick, CEO of The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
The Food Pharmacy program is expected to launch later this year, with preparations already underway to ensure its success. Unity Health Care looks forward to the positive impact this initiative will have on the health and well-being of our community members.
For more information about Unity Health Care and its programs, please visit www.unityhealthcare.org.
About the Capital Area Food Bank:
The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for more than a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, the food bank provided nearly 61 million meals to people in need last year by supplying food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. It also works in partnership with organizations across the region to address hunger’s root causes by pairing food with critical services such as education, health care, and job training. To learn more, visit https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/ or call (202.644.9864).