CenterWell Gives Back With Food Drive

Heading into the giving season, CenterWell Home Health collected nearly 90,000 meals during its 20th annual food drive to help feed people in the communities it serves nationwide. From August through September, the home health provider received food and monetary donations equivalent to 89,456 meals. According to Feeding America, 7 million seniors aged 60+ face hunger due to food insecurity.

“Food insecurity takes an especially heavy toll on seniors’ health and nutrition, increasing the risk of disease or worsening existing conditions,” said Sherri Rains, chief clinical officer for CenterWell Home Health. “As an organization dedicated to serving seniors, CenterWell Home Health knows firsthand the challenges they face. We want to ensure that food, the most basic component of good health, is available to all.”

CenterWell currently has more than 350 branches across 38 states, and branches nationwide were invited to participate in the drive. The three branches that collected the most donations were rewarded with $5,000 cash grants from the Humana Foundation. The Parkersburg, West Virginia, branch finished first this year, collecting food and cash that benefitted the Latrobe Street Mission, a Parkersburg shelter for homeless people.

“It’s a small community and everybody tries to take care of each other,” said Abbi Sturm, CenterWell Home Health clinical liaison and the food drive coordinator for the Parkersburg branch.

Sturm said two construction contractors—Grae-Con and Davis Pickering and Company—each made significant contributions; however, most of the donations collected came in small increments of 30,000 from the town’s residents.

The regional operations office in Atlanta collected food and money to benefit the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and finished second. The Louisville, Kentucky, branch finished third, collecting donations to benefit Feeding America.

Throughout the two decades in which it has held the food drive, CenterWell has collected more than 1.4 million meals. Contributions from the drives go to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations that provide food in their respective communities.

“We’re grateful to all who gave and helped us provide meals to people throughout our service areas,” Rains said. “Being in health care, we know that food is one of the most essential components of good health, so we’re glad we can help ensure our communities have access to nutritious food.”