HealthLinc has partnered with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to assist East Chicago residents facing food insecurity. The program will bring food lockers to Strack & Van Til in East Chicago, where enrolled community members may pick up food on a rotating basis.

“HealthLinc is proud to partner with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana on this project,” states Beth Wrobel, HealthLinc CEO. “Too many of our patients and community members face hunger issues and we want to help in any way we can. The food locker program, along with our mobile food pantries, brings much-needed help to this continued and growing situation.”

Staff at HealthLinc East Chicago will identify patients who can benefit from the program and assist them in enrolling. Additionally, assistance with finding transportation may also be available.

“With this partnership, HealthLinc patients will have access to a medically-tailored box of groceries available at our state-of-the-art locker system located at the East Chicago Strack & Van Til store,” said Victor Garcia, CEO of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. “This collaboration will have a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of our neighbors in need of food assistance. We look forward to learning from this pilot in the hopes to expand this project to other communities.”

This partnership is part of a larger effort to bring fresh, healthy food to HealthLinc patients and the communities of northern Indiana. Outside this project, HealthLinc partners with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to host mobile food pantries across the region. To date, HealthLinc has hosted four drive-thru mobile food pantries with the food bank, serving more than 700 individuals in East Chicago alone. Additionally, HealthLinc partners with the Food Bank of Northern Indiana to serve our other communities, including Starke, La Porte and St. Joseph counties.

For more information on this program, please contact Vanessa Fernandez at vfernandez@healthlincchc.org.