CINCINNATI — While most players for the Cincinnati Bengals have their eyes set on their season opener against divisional rival the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sam Hubbard is focused on a different opponent: food insecurity.
The Sam Hubbard Foundation announced Wednesday an initial gift of $10,000 for UC Health’s Food is Medicine program.
More than 2,000 people in Greater Cincinnati have received support the year through the program. It’s a partnership with the Freestore Foodbank, where the program supports individuals and families affected by insecurity by providing free food, hygiene items, and produce vouchers during visits to their primary care providers.
UC Health’s Food is Medicine program screens patients for food insecurity during visits to their primary care provider. Those who need support can immediately access an in-office food pantry stocked with pantry staples and hygiene items, and they receive vouchers for fresh produce at Freestore Foodbank locations. The program is located at the UC Health Hoxworth Internal Medicine and Pediatric Clinic in Clifton.
"To get the support from an organization like the Hubbard Foundation, when we heard it, we were just blown away,” UC Health Resident Physician Arayo Sokan said.
In a video released Wednesday, Hubbard shared his strong connection to UC Health. His mother, Amy, and sister, Madison, both work as nurses at UC Medical Center.
UC Health’s Food in Medicine program started in 2019 with the goal of helping 500 patients. Sokan said that goal was reached within the first three months. He said that highlights the need in the region.
Food insecurity is a growing problem nationally and within our community — in the United States, 38 million people, including 12 million children, experience food insecurity. In the Cincinnati region, more than 270,000 households experience food insecurity.
“You see the stress it takes on the patients, trying to figure out where the next meal is going to come from, trying to figure out how they’ll feed their families. All these things have a cumulative effect on their health,” Sokan said. “We’re here giving more medications, prescribing more tests, trying to figure out the solution to the problem. When in reality the patients don’t have access to the bare minimum resources they need to get through the day.”
Sakan said the program has changed lives for thousands in the Tri-State since its inception.
“To see the look on their face when they find out that they don’t have to worry about where they’ll get food for that day, or scrounging together a meal to feed their kids," Sokan said.
The Sam Hubbard Foundation’s gift will allow the program to be sustained and expand over the next few years.
“It’s not something we’ll solve today or tomorrow, but every step we take, it may be a thing that our children can look at as a problem we solved. It would be wonderful if we can get to that point,” Sakan said.
With a goal like that — everyone wins.
READ MORE
Joe Burrow, Sam Hubbard, Joe Mixon and Vonn Bell return as Bengals captains
Sam Hubbard Foundation gives 650 filled backpacks to students ahead of first day of school
Burrow, Hubbard and company stay local for offseason training
