ELIZABETH, NJ — RWJBarnabas Health has announced a collaboration and launch of a pilot program with Planet Harvest, a company with a vision to maximize the amount of fresh produce that moves from farms to families, to provide healthy, nutritious foods for patients at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth.
RWJBarnabas Health’s contributions to the initiative are part of the system’s larger effort to create healthier communities across New Jersey by addressing the state’s most pressing social determinants of health, including hunger.
The funding will support the distribution of more than 200 food boxes each week to patients of Trinitas Women’s Health Center. Each 15-pound box contains fresh produce, proteins and grains to support healthy, nutritious living for new moms and their babies.
“This program will directly benefit mothers and families who face barriers accessing healthy food,” said Maribeth Santillo, administrative director of Nursing, Maternal Child Health and Ambulatory Services, who is overseeing the program at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. “No one should have to go hungry or lack access to healthy, nutritious foods, especially moms and their children at the earliest stages of their lives.”…