{"id":14035,"date":"2022-03-23T16:09:36","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T20:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/?page_id=14035"},"modified":"2026-03-11T13:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:12:28","slug":"food-is-medicine-programs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/services\/community-services\/food-is-medicine-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Is Medicine Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Heat and Eat Meals<a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2022\/03\/outreach-circle.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2022\/03\/outreach-circle.jpg\" alt=\"take out containers of food\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2022\/03\/outreach-circle.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2022\/03\/outreach-circle-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Started in 2020 to alleviate the health and safety concerns caused by the pandemic, the CECMH created a series of community outreach services for mental and physical wellness. The Heat and Eat Meals program was one of these programs and it has continued to this day thanks to generous donations and community support.<\/p>\n<p>The Heat and Eat Meals are pre-made, ready to heat and eat meals prepared by local restaurants. The meals are delivered weekly by Center team members to ensure the highest standard of food safety. Clients will receive nutritional meals for the next 10 weeks so that they can avoid crowded food pantries and soup kitchens. In addition, they will also receive fresh fruits and vegetables as available from the Farm at Penny Lane.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Criteria for participation<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Must have at least 2 health risk factors<\/li>\n<li>Live in Chatham, Orange, or Wake Counties<\/li>\n<li>Be a client of the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Community Food Pantries<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong> REACH Community Cabinet<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15903 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-300x225.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-2048x1536.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-280x210.png 280w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/880\/2023\/11\/CC-interior-with-categories-11.2023-600x450.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>The REACH Community Cabinet supports all visitors to the primary care clinic and co-located services with basic needs distribution. Launched by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/centers-and-programs\/mental-health-equity-and-inclusion-program\/#:~:text=The%20DIVE%2DIN%20pilot%20grant,Cycles%201%2D3%20in%202023.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DIVE-IN grant<\/a> in January 2023, the Cabinet served over 170 individuals through more than 440 Cabinet visits and distributed over 2800 food, hygiene, and household items in its first year. The Community Cabinet is stocked with non-perishable items as well as seasonal distribution of fresh produce from UNC\u2019s Farm at Penny Lane and other local farms.<\/p>\n<p>UNC REACH is a <a href=\"https:\/\/health.gov\/our-work\/nutrition-physical-activity\/food-medicine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food Is Medicine<\/a> healthcare partner agency of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. This partnership supports the long-term sustainability of the Community Cabinet as well as increases the volume and range of non-perishable, fresh, and frozen food items available for distribution. The clinic can also offer medically specialized meal boxes and commonly requested household items such as laundry detergent, thanks to a $5600 seed fund from the Food Bank\u2019s bulk product purchase program.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong> REACH Office: 401 E. Whitaker Mill Road, Raleigh, NC, 27608<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Support the Community Cabinet<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>If you would like to make a direct contribution to the Community Cabinet, you can browse the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/hz\/wishlist\/ls\/5MC8GNC8BLZP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon wishlist<\/a> to help fill gaps in product and meet special item requests. All donations are welcome!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>CORA Food Pantry<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Approximately 14% of the population in Chatham County live at or below the poverty level ($24,600\/year for a family of 4). The CECMH\u2019s Farm at Penny Lane has partnered with CORA (Chatham Outreach Alliance) to help meet food insecurity needs for families making $49,200\/year for a family of four. CORA operates under USDA Food and Nutrition Services Eligibility Guidelines.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Criteria for participation<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Participants are Chatham County residents, although temporary support is provided.<\/li>\n<li>At each pantry visit families and individuals receive a week\u2019s worth of food for every family member.<\/li>\n<li>Each family or individual is eligible for 6 visits in 12 months.<\/li>\n<li>The Pantry will help those who need more food get some basics.<\/li>\n<li>CORA has easy long term store items, e.g. canned goods.<\/li>\n<li>Frozen food, dairy, eggs and produce are sometimes available<\/li>\n<li>CORA strives for Nutritionally balanced foods.<\/li>\n<li>The Pantry is organized like a grocery store so visitors can shop with a volunteer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Locations: <\/strong><strong>UNC Farm at Penny Lane Campus<\/strong>: 263 Penny Lane, Pittsboro, NC, 27312 and\u00a0 <strong>Wake ACT Team Office:<\/strong> 401 E. Whitaker Mill Road, Raleigh, NC, 27608<span class=\"delete\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Support the Food Pantry<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Product Donations<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>50% of CORA\u2019s food is donated<\/li>\n<li>CORA accepts shelf stable donations\u2014 canned fruit\/vegetables, boxed cereals, rice, pasta, baking mix and shelf-stable specialty items (drink mix, coffee, tea, pancake mix, condiments, herbs and spices, ethnic foods, other pantry staples), etc.<\/li>\n<li>CORA accept paper products \u2013 especially bathroom tissue and paper towels \u2013 and some personal hygiene items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, disposable razors, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Monetary Donations<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cash donations are also gladly accepted directly to <a href=\"https:\/\/secure.qgiv.com\/for\/corfoopan\/\">CORA food pantry<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heat and Eat Meals Started in 2020 to alleviate the health and safety concerns caused by the pandemic, the CECMH created a series of community outreach services for mental and physical wellness. The Heat and Eat Meals program was one of these programs and it has continued to this day thanks to generous donations and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/services\/community-services\/food-is-medicine-programs\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Food Is Medicine Programs\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97082,"featured_media":0,"parent":13823,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-14035","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Food Is Medicine Programs - UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/services\/community-services\/food-is-medicine-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Food Is Medicine Programs - UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heat and Eat Meals Started in 2020 to alleviate the health and safety concerns caused by the pandemic, the CECMH created a series of community outreach services for mental and physical wellness. 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