Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has opened a new food pantry at its Boston campus, made possible through a $1 million gift from Stop & Shop, to help address food insecurity among cancer patients and their families.
The pantry is located in the lobby of Dana-Farber’s Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Research Laboratories building. It will initially serve pediatric patients and their households, with plans to expand to adult patients across the Dana-Farber network in the coming months.
The need is significant. In 2023, 12.5 percent of U.S. households were food-insecure, a figure that rose to 17.1 percent for households with children. In Massachusetts, one in three households face food insecurity. Among children diagnosed with cancer, one in five live in poverty and one in three experience food, housing, utility or transportation insecurity. Nationally, at least 30 percent of cancer patients face food insecurity at diagnosis or during treatment.
Within Dana-Farber’s Pediatric Oncology Department, 30 percent of families who begin treatment without hardships develop at least one unmet need during their child’s two-year chemotherapy journey.
“Our food pantry marks a meaningful step toward addressing the non-medical challenges that can significantly influence treatment outcomes and the overall well-being of our patients and their families,” said Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Dana-Farber. “Stop & Shop’s contributions have been critical to ensuring this pantry is now a reality. We are grateful for their continued commitment.”
Stop & Shop is committing an additional $500,000 to help sustain the pantry’s operation and support its eventual expansion. The initiative will provide families with access to shelf-stable and perishable food options, and faculty will collaborate with clinicians and nutritionists to ensure the food offered is aligned with patients’ unique health needs.
“A cancer diagnosis is one of life’s most difficult challenges, and it can impact so many people physically, emotionally and financially,” said Roger Wheeler, president of Stop & Shop. “By partnering with Dana-Farber to establish this food pantry, we can help make sure patients and their families have one less challenge to endure by providing them with access to the nourishing food they need to focus on what matters most: treatment, recovery and time together. When families can focus on healing rather than hunger, hope has room to grow.”
Over more than 30 years of partnership, Stop & Shop has contributed more than $85 million to Dana-Farber, making the grocer the institute’s largest corporate philanthropic donor.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment and a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, offering more than 1,200 clinical trials. Dana-Farber is the only hospital nationwide with a top three U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care.
Stop & Shop employs nearly 50,000 associates and operates more than 350 stores throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. It is is an Ahold Delhaize USA company.
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