Tracy Tierney, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, APHSW-C is the social work and palliative care lead at Virginia Cancer Specialists. She is a board certified licensed clinical social worker in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a Master's in Social Work from the Catholic University of America.

I first started making referrals to Food & Friends when I worked in hospice care as a clinical social worker, and I was familiar with Food & Friends prior to that just through community involvement. I did the Philadelphia to D.C. AIDS Ride in 1996, and Food & Friends was one of the beneficiaries of that.

Not long after that, the Food & Friends service expanded to people with other life-challenging illnesses like cancer. So, I started referring patients from the hospice program I worked in. After I left the hospice, I decided to be a volunteer at Food & Friends, and I started doing the home deliveries in D.C. and Virginia. I was a delivery volunteer for five years.

By the time I started working here at Virginia Cancer Specialists, I was already closely familiar with the service. Food & Friends helps individuals improve their health through medically tailored meals combined with nutrition counseling. They help patients get the correct nutrition in a time when they are often feeling very poorly due to their illness or the side effects of their treatment.

Many of the patients we see have significant fatigue and other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. So, preparing food is the last thing they want to do. Having the home-delivered, freshly prepared meals, and knowing they are tailored to their specific medical needs relieves a lot of different stressors for cancer patients. Receiving deliveries from Food & Friends helps people both physically and emotionally.

The cancer itself, but also the side effects from the treatment can often be harsh. I have had many patients lose weight, and because of their fatigue and other symptoms it is hard for them to maintain their weight. They often do not have the strength and energy to prepare food.

Often, the meals from Food & Friends give them the ability to continue their treatment, because it takes a lot of wherewithal. They need to have the proper nutrition to get through it. When I tell our patients that Food & Friends is available to them, they are often surprised and thrilled to know they have an option.

Food & Friends differs from other services because it also can take the burden off caregivers, and support dependents in the household as well. Having a spouse or parent with a serious illness has an impact on the entire family.

There are many barriers to proper nutrition when you are living with cancer, sometimes it is just the physical strength it takes to prepare meals. Having enough energy is one of the greatest challenges for cancer patients. Food insecurity is another challenge many people face.

All the Food & Friends Client Services staff and the dietitians have always been super friendly and helpful. One of the patients I have been working with recently told me that Food & Friends is a lifeline for him. The volunteers who deliver the meals can help alleviate social isolation, and that is another thing that sets Food & Friends apart.