McLaren Greater Lansing continues to work hard to ensure patients get the nutritional support they need. On May 29, the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation cut the ribbon to the newly expanded food space that has been serving oncology patients at Karmanos Cancer Institute. The Food and Resource Center is now expanded to serve additional hospital clinics.
The new space, now located just feet away from the previous location in the Outpatient Care Center of the hospital, provides more room for canned goods, dry goods, and common household or personal care items such as laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, and deodorant. The space also includes a refrigerator that offers patients even more options such as produce, meat, eggs, and dairy.
“We were very successful with the patients we were serving, and we started to expand the items that we were offering, so we saw the need to have a bigger space where we can provide even more to our patients,” said Michele Loree, social worker at Karmanos Cancer Institute.
The resource center first opened in September 2023. Along with Loree, social worker Heather Spotts, and Kaytee Ivison, oncology nurse navigator, were key staff members who helped get the program up and running and they have continued to manage the pantry and advocate for a bigger space.
“The space is much more accessible, so for people who are in wheelchairs or have additional family members, this space can now accommodate them,” said Spotts. “The pantry now doubles as a resource hub as well. We were able to add a desk that provides community information, and we can also use the space to help set them up for anything they may need, whether it’s transportation or financial services or something else.”
The McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation funded the start-up costs for building the pantry, including purchasing the shelving needed and supplying the food. Greater Lansing Food Bank has partnered to prepare the boxes and provide training and support. Through the donation and funding from community partners such as Huntington Bank, PNC, and the McLaren Greater Lansing Volunteers Program, the construction of the new center was able to come to fruition and the center is now open for visitors.
“It took a lot of dedication and perseverance to get us to where we are today with this new center, and I’m very proud of our staff and our community partners who helped make this program successful,” said Lynn Griffor, chief experience officer and vice president of philanthropy at McLaren Greater Lansing. “Last year, in our much smaller food pantry, we were able to serve over 2,100 meals to our patients, so we’re excited to see how many more people we can help get the resources they need.”
Kelly Miller, chief development officer with Greater Lansing Food Bank, was present during the ribbon cutting and stated, “So often, people are food insecure and don’t have the ability to go anywhere else to get it, so being able to have something directly on campus where patients are physically going to their appointments and getting their cancer treatments, is a huge advantage to have onsite and available resources for them and that can provide them with healthy and sustainable options that can help them in their healing process.”
To celebrate the grand reopening, KCI is running a food drive to help fill the new Food and Resource Center. The items needed include canned food, chicken and tuna packets, pudding/Jell-O, dry cereal, laundry detergent, and shampoo and conditioner. If you would like to donate or have questions, reach out to Kaytee Ivison at (517) 975-7808.
For more information about oncology services at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing, click here. For more information about the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation, click here.
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