Hunger is a healthcare issue. That’s why hospitals, physicians and dentists across the state are joining to collect food and cash for local food banks in September.
"Healthcare Fights Hunger" is a food drive coordinated across the state through the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Arizona Academy of General Dentistry, the Arizona Medical Association and the Arizona Association of Food Banks. The drive coincides with National Hunger Action Month.
"Hungry children don’t learn well. Besides learning, hunger hinders growth and development, and a child’s ability to fight infection and heal from injuries," said Pamela Murphy, MD, pediatrician at Mendy’s Place, an emergency center for children at John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital.
"While proper nutrition is certainly important to children and teens, it’s also especially important to the elderly. We view hunger as a healthcare issue, and we’re urging employees, physicians, patients and visitors to end it by donating non-perishable food or cash to the drive," she said.
This year's campaign materials are educational in their focus. Posters, informational sheets and labels on cash collection cans feature drawings of a human outline, with facts and figures about hunger and how it affects the body.
Sharon Pierson, director of the John C. Lincoln Health Network’s Desert Mission Food Bank, noted that "John C. Lincoln Health Network is, to our knowledge, the only hospital in the nation with a food bank. We are grateful that others are now recognizing that hunger is indeed a health care issue." The food bank on the campus of John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital was founded in the 1920s.
Coordinating the collection of food and cash throughout the state is no small task. According to Fred Bates, spokesman for Arizona Association of Food Banks, his organization is taking additional steps to make it easier for medical and dental practices to participate.
"We’re providing collection cans, labeled with the Healthcare Fights Hunger information and logo, so that employees and patients can contribute cash," Bates said. "The cash and food collected in each community will stay in those communities. Cash will be used by local food banks to purchase food, and donated food will go right onto the shelves of the local food banks."
For more information, visit www.azfoodbanks.org or call 602-528-3434. |