SARASOTA/DESOTO COUNTIES, Fla. (August 13, 2025) – In the face of significant federal funding cuts and statewide policy decisions that have reduced nutritional support for vulnerable families, All Faiths Food Bank is expanding its healthcare partnerships to ensure food remains a powerful tool for prevention and healing. As part of its Food is Medicine program, All Faiths recently launched two new Wellness Markets inside local hospitals, which will provide fresh food for patients in need.

On July 28, All Faiths and DeSoto Memorial Hospital officially opened DeSoto County’s first hospital-based Wellness Market — a 24/7 pantry providing patients with access to fresh, medically-tailored food as part of their discharge plan. Nurses and administrative staff will personally select and distribute healthy foods to patients who have been identified as food insecure. The patients will then be connected with All Faiths for an opportunity to receive additional food and benefits assistance.

A week later, on August 4, All Faiths and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care, North Port, celebrated the opening of a Wellness Market there — the first hospital-based Wellness Market in Sarasota County. Fully integrated into the clinic’s workflow, the pantry will offer fresh food during operating hours and connect families to additional support.

These Wellness Markets join two others in the area — which also opened this year — at Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County and Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center.

The ultimate goal of the Wellness Markets is to reduce readmissions and emergency room visits and improve health outcomes by addressing food insecurity as a critical health issue, especially in rural communities where resources are scarce and the need is greater.

These innovative partnerships build on nearly a decade of All Faiths Food Bank’s commitment to linking nutrition and healthcare, including the launch of its Pediatric Food Insecurity Screening program in 2019 — made possible through visionary support from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. That initiative, now All Faiths’ Food is Medicine program, has grown to include wraparound services, such as benefits assistance, case management and thousands of food insecurity screenings each year across Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

“For many years, All Faiths Food Bank has been steadily expanding its focus from food distribution to the recognition of hunger as a critical health issue,” said Nelle S. Miller, president and CEO of All Faiths Food Bank. “We are grateful to Barancik Foundation for its early and generous support, and to DeSoto Memorial and Johns Hopkins All Children’s hospitals for joining us in this innovative effort to improve health outcomes for our neighbors.”

To learn more about All Faiths Food Bank, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org or call 941-379-6333. 

About All Faiths Food Bank
All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties, providing millions of meals each year in collaboration with more than 300 agencies and programs throughout the community. All Faiths works not only to end hunger today, but also strives to end hunger – forever – by helping families and individuals gain long-term food security, enjoy better health outcomes, and achieve self-sufficiency. All Faiths is rated four stars by Charity Navigator and is a partner of the Feeding America and Feeding Florida networks. Visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.