Healthy food, healthier tomorrows: How HCA Healthcare is supporting nutrition security

Eating a healthy diet is important for overall health and well-being. Among the benefits of a healthy and nutritious diet are stronger bones, enhanced immunity and lowered risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Food insecurity and the lack of access to nutritious food are associated with increased risk for multiple chronic health conditions and diseases. At HCA Healthcare, we know that nutrition security is a core component of helping our patients and communities take steps toward a healthier tomorrow. 

Did you know? According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of food insecure households continued to rise in 2023, up to 13.5%.

In 2021, the HCA Healthcare Foundation announced the Healthier Tomorrow Fund, an $80 million community impact fund, to assist in expanding the foundation’s robust work in Middle Tennessee to other community partners in communities where HCA Healthcare has a presence. Since its inception more than 25 years ago, the HCA Healthcare Foundation has contributed over $300 million in grants and matching gifts to more than 14,000 agencies and organizations across the country, focusing on those that promote health and well-being, education and quality of life. 

Read on to learn how the HCA Healthcare Foundation is working to champion health through nutrition security in HCA Healthcare communities nationwide.

Healthier Tomorrow Fund grants focused on nutrition security

This fall, the HCA Healthcare Foundation, through its Healthier Tomorrow Fund, gave $375,000 in grants to nonprofits focused on promoting nutrition security.

“Our nonprofit partners achieve incredible impact, addressing local needs and improving their communities,” said Joanne Pulles, vice president of community engagement at HCA Healthcare and president of the HCA Healthcare Foundation. “Through this grant program, we aim to support local initiatives, allowing our nonprofit partners to carry out their missions through quality programs. By giving community members access to healthy, well-balanced diets, we are empowering our neighbors to build a foundation of good health.”

This fall, the following organizations received $25,000 in Healthier Tomorrow Fund grants to strengthen access to nutritious food in 2024:

• Bonton Farms in Dallas, Texas
• Boys & Girls Club of Bowling Green in Bowling Green, Kentucky
• Bread of the Mighty in Gainesville, Florida
• Brownsville Wellness Coalition in Brownsville, Texas
• Community Food Bank in Homosassa, Florida
• Denver Inner City Parish in Denver, Colorado
• El Pasoans Fighting Hunger in El Paso, Texas
• Food Connection in Asheville, North Carolina
• Food Equality Initiative in Lenexa, Kansas
• Gather in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Hill Country Community Needs Council in Fredericksburg, Texas
• Hispanic Unity of Florida in Hollywood, Florida
• Lighthouse Charities in North Las Vegas, Nevada*
• Trident United Way in North Charleston, South Carolina
• Wasatch Community Gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah*

* Second-year recipient

2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant recipient spotlight: Lighthouse Charities

For the second year in a row, Lighthouse Charities has been selected as a recipient of a grant from the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Healthier Tomorrow Fund. The Las Vegas nonprofit primarily works with the vulnerable and displaced, including refugees, immigrants and community members in need of support. Through this grant program, the HCA Healthcare Foundation has provided Lighthouse Charities with a cumulative contribution of $50,000 to support their newest development, The Garden.

Providing fresh produce, eggs, herbs and more to sustain their culinary and agricultural projects, The Garden creates a familiar sense of home and community, building important job skills and health self-sufficiency. As a result of the HCA Healthcare Foundations’ grant, Lighthouse Charities has been able to accelerate the blueprint of the Garden. The organization has built a chicken coop, a children’s learning area and a gardening library.

Lighthouse Charities plays an important role in promoting nutrition security within the Las Vegas community, collaborating with local businesses. HCA Healthcare’s MountainView Hospital, which cares for patients in and around the Las Vegas community, has a close relationship with Lighthouse Charities and is continuing to explore additional ways to support the nonprofit.

2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant recipient spotlight: Brownsville Wellness Coalition

The Brownsville Wellness Coalition (BWC) and HCA Healthcare’s Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas have cultivated a strong and collaborative relationship. BWC works to address food and nutrition security by increasing access to healthier, more affordable food and helping to build a sustainable food system. As a recipient of a 2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant, BWC collaborates with Valley Regional Medical Center to organize mini-markets each month offering fruits and vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, beef, poultry and fish.

“This grant and relationship with HCA Healthcare represent a significant boost to our organization,” shared Eduardo Garcia, executive director of the Brownsville Wellness Coalition. “They empower us to expand our efforts, engage more people and create more meaningful health interventions in the community. Our relationship with HCA Healthcare will help raise awareness and increase community engagement in health-focused initiatives.”

The BWC works to remove barriers to wellness resources and services, ensuring that all individuals have equal access to the support they need. Additionally, they operate and manage five core programs: Urban Farms, Community Gardens, Farmers Market, Fresco Mobile Market and La Cocina Alegre cooking classes.

2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant recipient spotlight: Food Connection

The HCA Healthcare Foundation awarded Food Connection with a 2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant to support the nonprofit’s efforts to feed neighbors in need in the North Carolina counties of Buncombe and Madison. In a significant portion of Western North Carolina, home to HCA Healthcare’s Mission Health, Feeding America reports that the food insecurity rate surpasses the 14% state average. These statistics were released before the widespread destruction of Hurricane Helene, which left Western North Carolina residents in dire need of food and drinkable water, compounding challenges for those already struggling with food security.

Founded in 2014, Food Connection has rescued over 650,000 surplus chef-prepared meals, repackaged them into meals and redistributed them to local communities, reducing food waste and hunger. “What we do is in our name – we connect the food,” Food Connection’s founder Flori Pate told WLOS. In response to Hurricane Helene, Food Connection is currently delivering meals to the hard-hit community of Asheville, North Carolina as well as outlying, rural communities.

Additionally, HCA Healthcare affiliate Mission Hospital proudly participates in weekly chef-prepared food donations to Food Connection alongside Asheville caterers, hotels and restaurants. Mission Hospital’s own Chef Stasha Richards shared her skills recently at Chefs in Action, Food Connection’s signature event, which showcases their partners who help rescue from becoming food waste.

2024 Healthier Tomorrow Fund grant recipient spotlight: Hispanic Unity of Florida

As a 2024 grant recipient, Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF) works with HCA Healthcare to empower low and moderate-income families in Miami, Florida, to maintain nutritious lifestyles through health-conscious shopping, smart food choices and cost-saving strategies. HUF is one of South Florida’s largest agencies dedicated to the immigrant population, providing them with the tools they need to build a new life.

“Since 1982, HUF has been a trusted resource for immigrants in South Florida, offering comprehensive services that promote prosperity and self-sufficiency. Through a holistic approach, we address both immediate needs and long-term solutions to support the community,” shared Felipe Pinzon, president and CEO of Hispanic Unity of Florida. “We appreciate HCA Healthcare Foundation’s generosity; this gift will help us advance one of our key initiatives: expanding access to SNAP benefits, increasing the availability of nutritious food in local schools and empowering families to make healthier dietary choices, ultimately improving their overall health outcomes.”

The Hispanic Colleague Network, which is open to all colleagues, in HCA Healthcare’s East Florida Division works strategically alongside HUF to support their mission, including colleague volunteer opportunities.

Tackling food insecurity alongside the American Heart Association

Through our collaboration with the American Heart Association, we have made significant strides in supporting food security with direct nutrition interventions in 12 HCA Healthcare markets. In 2022, the American Heart Association launched the Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ initiative, developed in conjunction with and supported by HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation.

Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ features several efforts focused on the important connection between heart and brain health in identifying risk factors and preventing future stroke, especially in communities with increased health disparities

Over the past two years, the American Heart Association has established over 100 community health partners through Getting to the Heart of Stroke™, with 40 of those partners launching evidence-based nutrition security changes. Other community partners have implemented strategies to raise awareness and promote education around other community health topics including hypertension and maternal health.

In Fort Worth, Texas, the American Heart Association and HCA Healthcare affiliate Medical City Healthcare, supported by the HCA Healthcare Foundation, are helping the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) enhance nutritional security. A new food pantry opened in August 2024 at the district’s Cesar Chavez Elementary School in north Fort Worth to serve the needs of students, families and the surrounding community.

The food pantry operates on a “self-select” basis, providing a dignified shopping experience where families can make personal nutrition choices that work best for their households. Essential resources to open the pantry were provided through the American Heart Association’s Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ initiative. The initiative aims to improve heart health and beat stroke – including advancing nutrition for a healthy heart.

Medical City, the HCA Healthcare Foundation and the American Heart Association partnered to provide all the necessary equipment for the new pantry, which students have named “Chavez Pick & Pack.” The equipment included shelving, refrigeration units, worktables, baskets and mobile carts. In addition, Medical City Healthcare colleagues will volunteer to assist with the pantry.

Additional regional Getting to the Heart of Stroke™ initiatives to advance nutrition for healthy hearts include HCA Florida Healthcare working with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County to implement cold food storage solutions and promote healthy food procurement and HCA Houston Healthcare partnering with Urban Harvest to establish food security screenings and resource referrals in urban areas.

Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food & Nutrition Drive

In 2024, HCA Healthcare hosted our fourth annual Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food & Nutrition Drive to support access to nutritious food. Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, HCA Healthcare, our colleagues and the HCA Healthcare Foundation helped provide thousands of nutritious meals to community organizations by donating food or making financial contributions to help purchase perishable items such as milk, fruit and vegetables.

For this year’s food drive, hospitals were encouraged to use their creativity to construct sculptures with the donated food before taking it to their local food banks. The prize? The winner in each division received a $10,000 grant for a food bank serving their community.

Below, we are highlighting a few of the 15 division sculpture winners and their respective local food banks.

HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge (Thorton, Colorado)

HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge in Thorton, Colorado, earned top ranks in HCA Healthcare’s 2024 Continental Division food sculpture competition. The winning sculpture, built from donated nonperishable food, is a nod to the division’s new brand launch in October, uniting more than 170 care sites in Denver under one name: HCA HealthONE. The new brand name connects HealthONE hospitals and sites of care more closely as one integrated system, ensuring that patients receive consistent and high-quality care throughout the Denver area.

HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge collected 1,126 pounds of non-perishable items and announced they will donate their $10,000 grant to Thorton Community Food Bank.

Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose, California)

Good Samaritan Hospital’s sculpture won HCA Healthcare’s Far West Division 2024 food sculpture competition. Nicknamed the “Good Sam Can Van,” the California hospital’s sculpture was inspired by the West Valley Community Services’ Park-It Market, which serves as a mobile food pantry and highlights the need for food security by providing essential food to those with transportation barriers.

Colleagues and volunteers at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose helped build the sculpture with over 1,500 donated cans. The sculpture is an almost life-size replica of the Park-it Market, which brings fresh, healthy produce and vital resources directly to underserved neighborhoods daily. Good Samaritan Hospital is donating the $10,000 grant to West Valley Community Services.

Mission Hospital (Asheville, North Carolina)  

In HCA Healthcare’s North Carolina Division, Mission Hospital was crowned the 2024 division food sculpture competition winner. Their sculpture entry of a tanker truck providing water represents the emergency response resources provided by HCA Healthcare to the hospital after the city of Asheville, North Carolina experienced municipal water challenges for weeks following Hurricane Helene.

To continue offering uninterrupted medical care to the Asheville, North Carolina community, HCA Healthcare brought in trucks supplying 200,000 gallons of water daily Mission Health hospitals to remain open for care. These trucks allowed water to travel through the facility’s faucets to maintain hospital operations, supplied water to portable showers and laundry units and supported water needs in hotels housing local colleagues displaced during the storm.

Mission Hospital selected MANNA Food Bank as the recipient of the 1,500 pounds of canned fruits and vegetables used to make the sculpture and presented the nonprofit with a $10,000 grant to support their mission. Colleagues at Mission Hospital shared that they hope this donation will remind people, that even during difficult times, we can keep each other safe and healthy.  

Related article: HCA Healthcare to donate $1 million towards Hurricane Helene disaster relief efforts in North Carolina

TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center (Hendersonville, Tennessee)

HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division selected TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center as the winner of its 2024 food sculpture competition. Colleagues at the Hendersonville, Tennessee, hospital came together to assemble over 250 donated cans into a pumpkin pie sculpture. The sculpture was displayed in the hospital lobby throughout the month of November, offering a visual reminder of the community’s commitment to improving access to nutritious food.

TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center’s food collections were donated to the United Way of Sumner County and the $10,000 grant was provided to Feed Sumner Food Bank and Ministry.