Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 154

Toledo, Ohio: Prescribing a Cure for Hunger
Hunger persists in part because of how we talk about it
Toledo
as a problem. New partners with a different perspective on
hunger can get us to see beyond the same old strategies and
solutions. In this example, a leading health care provider
tries to recast hunger as a health care crisis that could possibly be dealt with more effectively if we treat it as we do
other chronic illnesses.
Silicon Valley is a cutting edge place for techDayton
nology development, New York City for the arts.
Toledo, Ohio—not a place we usually think of as
cutting edge—certainly qualifies as an avant-garde
leader in the anti-hunger movement.
Toledo is the headquarters of ProMedica, the largest
health care provider in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. The company wants to change the way policymakers in the region look at the problem
of hunger in their communities. The idea is to recast hunger as a health care priority, on
par with fighting illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. If ProMedica succeeds in doing this
in the region, it could inspire other healthcare institutions around the country to do the same. Before long,
this concept could change the way many more policymakers view the importance of eliminating hunger in
their communities.
ProMedica has considerable influence on policy
development in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, not only by virtue of being the largest healthcare
West
also because it is
Virginia provider butoperates 11 hospitals the region’s largest
employer. It
and more than 300
other healthcare facilities, employing 1,700 physicians,
14,000 other staff, and an additional 1,600 volunteers.51
When its government relations office talks to the governors of Ohio and Michigan, or to the mayors of cities
where it provides services, and says that hunger and
nutrition deserve their attention, the elected leaders
may be inclined to listen in a different way than they do
to traditional anti-hunger lobbyists.
Barb Petee, ProMedica’s chief advocacy officer and
head of its government relations department, is in
charge of developing ProMedica’s anti-hunger strategy.
As a not-for-profit healthcare organization, its goals are
to provide high quality, affordable care to everyone in
the community, including underserved populations.

Ohio

ProMedica and other
community partners
have joined forces
to ensure a growing
number of youngsters
have meals after school.

Courtesy ProMedica

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Bread for the World Institute

Ohio