22-05-2025
Second food pantry opens at Sanford to help patients
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – It's estimated that 106 thousand people in South Dakota are food insecure and when families go hungry it can seriously impact their health. That's why Sanford Health has taken on a holistic approach to help patients who struggle to afford putting food on their table.
The Kid's Kitchen inside MB 3 on Sanford's main campus opened just two weeks ago and already it's helped quite a few patients.
'The first week we served over 50 families; last week, I think about 70 families,' Karen Wingler with Sanford Health said.
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This is the second Kid's Kitchen at Sanford. The first opened two years ago in the Children's Hospital.
'And they serve about 100 families a week,' Wingler said. 'So, when they looked at it, they just felt like we needed to add to that and that we have patients in the women's clinics that also needed the service.'
The food and hygiene products in the pantry are solely for patients and their families who need some extra help.
'When patients come in, the nurses are screening them. If they have any kind of food insecurity, if they won't be able to buy food before their next paycheck, they qualify,' Wingler said. 'We offer them the option, we can send some food home with them. We're offering two to three meals, per person in their household.'
Just one more way Sanford is working to keep people healthy.
'We determined that many of our patients had food insecurities and just really needed help with that. So, we want them to come to their appointment, clearly, and when they do that, they get the opportunity to take home some food with them,' Wingler said.
All the food for the pantries are donated by Feeding South Dakota and hygiene products are donated by staff and community members.
Sanford is looking for volunteers to help run the pantry, to learn more about those opportunities click here.
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