Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington, located on the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) main campus, launched a new program this month to support patients experiencing food insecurity.
Healing Harvest is a food pantry program that started at Dartmouth Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, in 2022. The program was launched after staff began noticing many patients struggling with food insecurity. The expansion of Healing Harvest to Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington, started on December 15.
“This represents a huge step towards our goal of offering Healing Harvest services to food insecure patients at every Dartmouth Cancer Center location,” said Julia Boger Hawkins, program manager of Healing Harvest.
“There are many reasons patients may require assistance through Healing Harvest, including the financial impact of cancer, transportation issues, and the physical effort that it takes to go grocery shopping while under treatment for cancer. The program ensures access to healthy foods for all cancer patients.”
The launch of Healing Harvest in Bennington was supported by donations to the SVRCC Patient Resource Fund, through the Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation.
“While we support our patients through treatment, we don’t want their healing impacted by lack of access to basic needs,” said Caryn Packard, administrative director of Dartmouth Cancer Center Bennington. “Bringing Healing Harvest locally is another way we can provide wraparound support for our patients and their families.”
For information on supporting Healing Harvest in Bennington, please contact the SVHC Foundation at 802-447-5017.
About Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVMC includes the Dartmouth Cancer Center at SVMC, the SVHC Foundation, as well as 25 primary and specialty care practices. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. SVMC provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.