Posted May 15, 2023
DOORWAYS, 1101 N. Jefferson Avenue 63106
Services To DOORWAYS Clients Using The Provisions Pantry Are Expanded Through Partnership with Food Outreach
By addressing nutrition insecurity, agencies seek to improve health
and well-being for individuals living with HIV
St. Louis – May 15, 2023 Food Outreach, the only provider of medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling for people living with HIV and cancer in Missouri and western Illinois, and DOORWAYS, the only organization in the Saint Louis area whose sole mission is providing affordable housing and supportive services to people living with HIV, are partnering to launch a program to combat nutrition insecurity. The collaboration will help ensure that community members living with HIV and who transition from homelessness to a DOORWAYS supportive housing program will receive medically tailored meals needed to improve health status—the foundation for building a more self-directed life.
With a focus on nutrition’s role in client stabilization, this partnership is operated in the DOORWAYS Provisions Pantry located at the newly opened Jefferson Avenue campus. Through the experience and expertise of Food Outreach, DOORWAYS clients in many of the agency’s housing programs will have access to food goods and nutrition classes. Together, these agencies are providing centralized food and nutrition services focused on meeting community members where they live.
Years of research and experience confirm that HIV and nutrition insecurity are entwined in a vicious cycle. Nutrition insecurity is associated with reduced HIV viral load suppression and suboptimal HIV treatment adherence. Adopting a food is medicine approach (e.g., good nutrition) is crucial for managing HIV infection. Similarly, housing is healthcare. It is nearly impossible to manage an HIV medication regimen without stable housing. The alliance between the agencies underscores the complementary nature of their missions in serving without discrimination a diverse population at the intersection of scarcity—including nutrition hardship, housing, utility distress, social isolation—and illness associated with a diagnosis of HIV.
“People who are food and nutrition insecure suffer disproportionally from chronic diseases like HIV,” said Opal M. Jones, President & CEO of DOORWAYS. “We’ve seen firsthand the devastating effects of nutrition insecurity among our clients and believe tackling this issue is key to building the foundation for improved health and life outcomes. Partnering with Food Outreach will ensure we are offering an effective food and nutrition program.”
“We are honored to be partnering with DOORWAYS,” said Julie Lock, Executive Director at Food Outreach. “With this co-located agency model, we have a real opportunity to meet individuals living with chronic illness and experiencing economic disparity where they are, and provide for their basic needs, support them on their treatment journey, and help improve their quality of life.”
If you would like more information about this food is medicine and housing is healthcare partnership, or to volunteer with Food Outreach or in the DOORWAYS Provisions Pantry, please visit foodoutreach.org, doorwayshousing.org or contact, Food Outreach: Justin Kralemann, Sr. Dir. Development & Strategic Initiatives, at (314) 710-5540 or justin@foodoutreach.org or DOORWAYS: Karen Carpentier, Grants and Communications Manager, at (314) 328-2704 or kcarpentier@doorwayshousing.org.
For 35 years, Food Outreach has been at the forefront of delivering innovative and progressive wellness and nutrition initiatives that utilize a Food as Medicine approach (e.g., systems approach to food and nutrition issues) to positively affect complex and evolving health challenges faced by society’s most vulnerable residents. A vital community resource, the organization is the only nonprofit in the greater St. Louis region focused on meeting the nutrition needs of people battling nutrition insecurity and life-threatening illnesses.
About Food Outreach:
Founded in 1988, Food Outreach is the only organization and nonprofit in Missouri and western Illinois providing nutritional support, through its Medically Tailored Meals and Grocery programs, to individuals of all ages living with HIV or cancer. The organization currently serves more than 1,700 individuals ages 19-96 in 160 Missouri and Illinois zip codes—many of whom live with multiple secondary illnesses in addition to their primary diagnosis. The number of clients Food Outreach serves has increased 20% from 2021 to 2022. For more information visit: foodoutreach.org.
About DOORWAYS:
Since 1988, DOORWAYS has offered housing and supportive services to improve quality of life and health outcomes for people battling homelessness and illness from HIV and other chronic conditions resulting from a life of poverty. While medical advances can render the virus untransmissible, ending new cases of HIV, it is nearly impossible for an individual to manage an HIV healthcare regimen without stability within the social determinants of health: housing, nutrition/hunger, income/employment, education/skills-building, community, etc. In response, DOORWAYS has evolved over the years to provide assistive, emergency, flexible, and permanent housing, as well as a subsidies program to prevent homelessness for those in their own accommodations. Onsite empowerment programs offered by DOORWAYS and related partners include the Provisions Pantry plus behavioral health counseling, 24/7 crisis intervention, employment and career services, pharmacy delivery, self-development programming, one-on-one goal management with linkage to resources, etc. In fiscal year 2022, we served 3,184 men, women, and children in the St. Louis bi-state region. For more information visit: doorwayshousing.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Karen Carpentier 314-328-2704 | kcarpentier@doorwayshousing.org
Justin Kralemann 314-710-5540 | justin@foodoutreach.org
