Dear Friends,
As we begin 2023, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to you, our amazing community of neighbors helping neighbors. Because of your unwavering support for those we care for, Food & Friends reached more adults and children with serious illnesses than ever in 2022.
1.59 million freshly prepared meals were home-delivered by our friendly volunteers and kind delivery team to 4,891 adults and children living with serious or chronic illnesses. Even amid the highest-ever distribution of meals, our dedicated staff and volunteers maintained unmatched quality and exceptional public health results, thanks to your steadfast support.
The individuals with serious illnesses you helped us serve reported a 95% satisfaction rate with our meals, nutrition support and delivery services in 2022. 84% of them reported improved health, which is an 8% improvement over last year. We are honored to continue to be an essential community resource and strengthen the wellbeing of our communities in this way, thanks to you.
In a year of so many highlights, the personal connections we create every day continue to shine. I had the honor of meeting a neighbor, Danielle, who came to visit us before the holidays to personally share how much your help meant to her uncle and their whole family before he passed away, and to share what an influential person her uncle was in her life and in his community. Another meaningful moment was a gentleman named Kwame, who volunteered over Thanksgiving and was moved to tears by the memories of receiving meals himself as a child, including the Food & Friends Thanksgiving feast, as his mom battled HIV/AIDS. He was overcome with joy to return to give the gift of service. Your support creates a flourishing legacy of purpose, impact, and hope.
While remaining true to our mission, we continue to grow, and innovate. There was a tremendous increase of 300% participation in our client nutrition education webinar programming in 2022. Last month alone, 164 neighbors with serious illnesses accessed this valuable nutrition information at a time that works with their doctors' appointments, work and homelife. This impactful nutrition education progress is only possible because of your generosity.
We are especially grateful to you for making it possible for us to add three essential new positions to our team. These new colleagues are helping us keep up with a 28% increase in demand for home-delivered, medically tailored meals and groceries. Rachelle Alexis, Expediting Manager, Gregory Chudy, Executive Sous Chef, and Wei Wu, Program Data, Evaluation, and Analytics Director, each joined our team of dedicated professionals in 2022.
To meet the surging demand for our services, and continue to expand our shipping program, we further enhanced our facility. Thanks to a generous gift from the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, and a grant from the State of Maryland, we were able to build a beautiful new reinforced outdoor storage shed to store critical packaging and supplies.
Our broader expansion into Maryland and Virginia was another highlight, thanks to the many engaged community members like you who understand how essential our mission is. With your help, we added two new counties to our shipping area, Allegany, and Garrett, which means that Food & Friends can meet the needs of people with serious illnesses in the entire Western half of Maryland. And we received a three-year grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to deepen our work in Northern Virginia focusing specifically on individuals impacted by poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
Your incredible support helped us respond to the critical health needs of our community as it recovers from the pandemic.
In the year ahead, we will be exploring how we can continue to deepen the positive impact we make together. 2022 was a year of transformative growth and remarkable stamina, and our success was only possible because of you.
I am excited to work together in 2023. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at cstoltzfus@foodandfriends.org.
With gratitude,
Carrie Stoltzfus, MPH
Executive Director
