UnitedHealthcare Awards San Diego Food Bank $375,000 Grant to Address Food Insecurity
March 26 2019 - 5:30PM
Business Wire
- Grant to help the Jacobs &
Cushman San Diego Food Bank expand its FEED program to 50 new sites
and enhance the 2-1-1 Community Information Exchange to connect
more people to local community resources
UnitedHealthcare awarded the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food
Bank a $375,000 grant to help address food insecurity, modernize
the food bank’s database systems and connect San Diegans countywide
to vital community services, including housing and employment
services.
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the full release here:
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Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, Mayor of National
City, joins Kevin Kandalaft, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan
of California, and James Floros, CEO of the San Diego Food Bank, to
announce UnitedHealthcare’s $375,000 grant to the San Diego Food
Bank to address food insecurity in San Diego County (Photo courtesy
of UnitedHealthcare).
“One in seven San Diegans struggles with food insecurity,
meaning almost half a million people, from children to seniors,
might not know where their next meal is coming from,” said James
Floros, CEO, San Diego Food Bank. “This grant will increase the
availability of nutritious food options and enhance Food Bank
client dignity with improved database systems that reduce wait
times and registration redundancies.”
The grant will help the San Diego Food Bank expand its Feeding
Everyone with Equity & Dignity (FEED) database pilot program –
currently used at 82 Food Bank sites – to an additional 50 sites
this year. Through the expansion, the food bank will support the
delivery of more than 10 million pounds of food. Since its
implementation, FEED has reduced the food bank’s wait times from a
few hours to 20 minutes or less and has streamlined the
registration process for Food Bank clients.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with San Diego
Food Bank to address hunger-related issues and other social
determinants of health in the county,” said Kevin Kandalaft, CEO,
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California. “This grant supports
the food bank’s capacity to provide nutritious food and direct
resources to vulnerable San Diegans to help them live healthier
lives.”
San Diego Food Bank clients visiting select sites will be issued
a personalized food ID card, similar to a library card, to
eliminate repeat registration requirements across multiple sites.
For example, once issued an ID card, clients can access food at
other Food Bank sites using the database without having to provide
basic household information or complete duplicate paperwork.
The grant will also help the San Diego Food Bank enhance its
2-1-1 Community Information Exchange (CIE), which connects people
to vital community services. More than 114,000 additional clients
will be empowered with greater access to tools from CIE partners
for needs including housing, legal help and employment
services.
The announcement was made by Kevin Kandalaft and James Floros
during a press conference at Friendships for Hope, a food
distribution site in National City. San Diego Food Bank teams
demonstrated the use of the new ID card, and employee volunteers
from UnitedHealthcare helped hundreds of community members in the
food distribution line as they registered for their new ID
cards.
UnitedHealthcare has launched community initiatives and
participated in numerous public-private partnerships nationwide to
address various social determinants of health including food
insecurity, access to transportation, and safe and affordable
housing.
About UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to
helping people live healthier lives and making the health system
work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience,
meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. In the United States,
UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health
benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated
health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of
the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified
health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare
at www.uhc.com/ or follow @UHC on Twitter.
About the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food
BankEstablished in 1977, the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego
Food Bank is a critical component to the welfare of San Diego
County, providing food to people in need, advocating for the hungry
and educating the public about hunger-related issues. Through a
combination of programs and partnerships with more than 500 San
Diego County nonprofit charities, the Food Bank acts as a central
repository and distribution point for donated food. The Food Bank
distributed 28 million pounds of food in the Financial Year
2017-2018 to individuals, families and a network of nonprofit
organizations that work to alleviate hunger throughout the county.
Visit the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank at:
www.sandiegofoodbank.org.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190326006009/en/
Catherine
FarrellUnitedHealthcareCatherine.Farrell@uhc.com714-226-4247
Chris CarterSan Diego Food
Bankccarter@sandiegofoodbank.org619-857-2314
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