COVID-19 creates hunger emergency for cancer patients; Philly PD & Legacy of Hope respond.

The COVID-19 crisis has affected our country in unique ways, most of which our populations have never experienced before. Our healthiest citizens fear leaving the safety of their homes for staples and groceries due to the risk of exposure to this highly-contagious and devastating virus. This fear may only be superseded by those who are in high-risk populations and no one is at more risk than the immunocompromised cancer patients in our communities.

Legacy of Hope and the Philadelphia Police Department have joined forces with Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and Brown’s Chef’s Market to quickly and effectively mitigate critical levels of hunger and malnutrition faced by our local cancer patients. Just this week Legacy of Hope was awarded a grant from Philadelphia’s PHL COVID-19 Fund for the extraordinary progress being made to help protect cancer patients during the COVID-19 crisis. At the beginning of this crisis, Legacy of Hope quickly scaled its operations to begin delivering two weeks of groceries at no cost to 96 cancer patients and their families every month. We are working around the clock with hospitals, the Philadelphia Police, and corporate partners to continue providing emergency support to an increasing number of cancer patients across Philadelphia. Here’s what we’re doing to help:

1. Cancer patients and families facing imminent hunger and other critical issues are identified by oncology social workers, who then work closely with Legacy of Hope’s Patient Support team. The team is able to quickly identify critical needs specific to each patient and provide emergency support.