CHKD Receives Grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to Improve Food Access and Foster Equity

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – CHKD has received a $50,000 Connecting Communities grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to provide low- and moderate-income patient families with healthy, shelf-stable food and assistance with referrals for food and other needs.

With the vision of creating healthier, more equitable neighborhoods, Rite Aid Healthy Futures has provided more than $4.5 million in grant funding to leading children’s hospitals across the country, giving them additional resources to address hunger and food insecurity through innovative, community-rooted initiatives. A total of 42 hospitals serving Rite Aid’s 17-state footprint received grants ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 through Healthy Futures’ Connecting Communities signature initiative.

Launched in 2021, the Connecting Communities program finds innovative ways to link major institutions and their communities to nurture and promote health equity for children, especially those who may already be receiving medical care or living with a serious illness such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, among others.

“Healthy communities create healthier and more resilient children, and the reality is hunger and food insecurity prevent far too many children, families, and communities from reaching their full and inherent potential,” said Matt DeCamara, executive director of Rite Aid Healthy Futures. “We have a call to action – to say ‘enough is enough’ when we see so many of our neighbors and neighborhoods facing hunger every day. As a society, we must affect change and strive for more enduring solutions. By partnering with these incredible hospitals across the country, we hope to reach kids and families where the need is greatest and treat healthy food as life-changing medicine.”

At CHKD, the grant will be used for a food program based at General Academic Pediatrics in CHKD’s new Children’s Pavilion that identifies which patients and families would benefit from a pantry bag of shelf-stable food as well as assistance with referrals for food and other needs. In 2021, CHKD received a $45,000 grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to pilot this program.

“This generous grant will help CHKD provide strong support services that children and families need to help stay healthy,” said Kate Ryan, philanthropy officer at CHKD. “We are extremely grateful to Rite Aid Healthy Futures for recognizing this need and partnering with us to create healthier futures for our patients.”