Every few months, Sandra drives to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Comprehensive Care Practice to see her doctor. When she visits, she also picks up two bags of groceries from Hopkins Community Connection’s food pantry. Hopkins Community Connection (HCC) is a Johns Hopkins organization that offers resources to Johns Hopkins Medicine patients.

“I appreciate the program,” says Sandra. “The staff is polite and helpful, and they let me choose what I want to get.”

Sandra has a variety of fruits and vegetables to select from. She says she also likes to pick up oatmeal and rice to feed her large family.

HCC Executive Director Kristin Topel says anyone visiting the clinic is eligible to receive food, as well as social needs support from HCC, which has been a part of Johns Hopkins Medicine for nearly 20 years. Formerly called Health Leads, HCC has a desk at six clinics. Undergraduate Johns Hopkins University student volunteers and community health workers talk to patients to assess if there are any social barriers to wellness, such as food insecurity or transportation issues. Then, HCC quickly links the patients with resources, such as the food pantry, to help fill any gaps.

Topel says the organization runs six food pantries. They are located in the Harriet Lane Clinic, the Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center, the Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service, the Bayview Comprehensive Care Practice, the Yard 56 pediatric clinic and the East Baltimore Medical Center.

HCC purchases food from the Maryland Food Bank, and the pantries also supplement shelf-stable foods with produce delivered from Hungry Harvest.

“Over the years, we’ve learned that long-term solutions take time. Having the food on-site makes it easy to access so we can address the need in the moment,” Topel says. “Everyone can shop for what they want, and that infuses dignity and autonomy into the process.”

Maryland Food Bank Regional Program Director Sarah Kennedy says HCC was the first to establish food pantries in a clinic setting. Maryland Food Bank has worked with the organization since October 2018.

“Through their food pantries, Hopkins Community Connection addresses food insecurity in real time and promotes the holistic wellness of our neighbors,” Kennedy says. “They share our goals of increasing food access and creating pathways out of hunger.”

Bayview Comprehensive Care Practice Patient Navigator Kristen Foreman says the beauty of HCC is that patients see a provider and an HCC representative both on the same floor and on the same day. She says the convenience helps lower stress.

“We’re helping to mitigate food insecurity in Baltimore,” Foreman says. “Every time we’re able to support someone with the food pantry, it’s an outstanding achievement.”

For more information about Hopkins Community Connection, email [email protected].