LMH Health partners with Just Food to address food insecurity

As LMH Health works to address social determinants of health in our community, a major focus is food insecurity — the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

To combat food insecurity, LMH Health’s community outreach and engagement team is leading the effort to collaborate with Just Food, a local non-profit organization that secures food and distributes it to partner agencies and Douglas County residents.

This collaboration is happening in two ways.

First, LMH Health now offers health screenings at Just Food. Each month, LMH Health visits Just Food and conducts free blood pressure and blood sugar screenings. Quarterly cholesterol screenings began in April.

“We want to reach the community when and where it is convenient for them,” says Allison Koonce, with community outreach and engagement at LMH Health. “LMH Health’s partnership with Just Food is an important step toward addressing health equity in our community.”

Second, LMH Health is partnering with Just Food to provide food kits to patients in need. LMH Health emergency department employees and social workers identify these patients and give them a food kit upon discharge. The kits include healthy items like canned tuna, apple sauce, peanut butter, oats, protein shakes, veggie soup and crackers.

Additionally, LMH Health physicians may provide a “nutrition prescription” to patients. These prescription forms include recommendations such as low-carb, low-fat and high-fiber diets, and space for physicians to add specific notes about food choices. Patients can take these prescription forms to Just Food and receive assistance in getting the recommended foods.