‘If we don’t do it, who will?’ How these two critical access hospitals are increasing access to healthy foods

It’s 7 a.m. on Wednesday and Dan Howard and Brooke Mikla are loading boxes of food into a white Ford Connect van. It only has two-wheel-drive and they’re traveling throughout rural Vernon and Juneau counties, also known as the eastern Driftless Region. They’ll need to be careful as winter approaches and roads become icy (they got stuck once). Dan, marketing and community relations manager, and Brooke, community wellness coordinator, both of whom work at Gundersen St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hillsboro, are delivering food to homes across the area. This will take them all morning.

Gundersen + Second Harvest’s HungerCare Wellness Program

Gundersen St. Joe’s is part of Second Harvest of Southern Wisconsin HungerCare Wellness Program. It started in 2016 as a pilot program to provide food boxes and education to those experiencing food insecurity. The program expanded in 2019 to include those with heart disease. Today, the program creates partnerships with marginalized communities that have high rates of food insecurity and chronic health conditions. 

“Instead of correcting a diet with medication, we’re providing healthy, whole foods and cooking instructions that will help support positive health outcomes,” says Brooke.

‘They’re now creating their own healthy recipes’

Gundersen St. Joe’s modeled their program after Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital, which also partners with Second Harvest.

“Participants have gone from not wanting to try fruits, vegetables or whole grains at all, to seeking out those foods when they grocery shop. They’re now creating their own healthy recipes,” says Cameron Novy, community wellness coordinator at Gundersen Boscobel. “They get so excited for each month's food box. It’s rewarding to see how they've benefitted from this program.”

‘She’s the person we’ve got to keep in mind as we’re doing this work’

Initially, participants from Gundersen St. Joe’s picked up their monthly food boxes at one of two local pantries. But, it took one rainy day for Dan and Brooke to see this process didn’t work for everyone – including a participant named Maryann Schulz.

Maryann, a HungerCare Wellness Program participant, uses a wheelchair. On that rainy day, her caretaker Trisha Herold pushed her to the food pantry. 

As they were preparing to return home, Maryann held an umbrella in one hand, a bag of items from the pantry under her chin and was going to carry the food box on her lap.

“They only lived three blocks from the food pantry, but three blocks in the pouring rain is ridiculous,” Dan says. “And I was like, we’re figuring this out. This is just not right.”

Dan says a gentleman volunteering at the food pantry that day offered to drive the food box to Maryann’s house. That gave Dan an idea. The following month, Dan and Brooke started delivering the food boxes to folks who had trouble leaving their homes or didn’t have transportation.

Dan keeps a picture of Maryann at his desk to remind him why they’re pouring energy and time into this mission.

“This photo reminds us why we’re making deliveries and doing this work,” Dan says. “If we don’t do it, who will? That’s just how we think out here.”

How these food boxes are championing healthier lives

The food boxes – similar to popular meal delivery kits – are filled with dry goods, freezer items and refrigerated food. Also included are recipes, cooking instructions and nutritional information for each meal, like this month’s one pan chicken casserole. The recipe calls for ingredients like chicken, peppers, onions and zucchini – all of which are inside the accompanying food box.

All the meals support a diabetic diet. Initially, Dan and Brooke worked with the diabetes educator and RN, Leigh Rueckheim, at Gundersen St. Joe’s to recruit participants.

Leigh has followed and encouraged the 43 participants along their health journeys.

“Before this program, due to financial barriers, one patient struggled to buy healthy food,” Leigh says. “The food boxes and wellness program have helped her eat healthier. As a result, her glucose readings have improved.”

Meanwhile, Gundersen Boscobel has partnered with UW-Extension to bring a free monthly nutrition class to the community – open to program participants and the general public. Kathy Lange, FoodWIse Nutrition Educator for Grant, Green, Iowa and Lafayette counties, hosts the class at the hospital the Friday before food box pick-up.

“Kathy introduces attendees to new ways of preparing foods and shares great tips and recipes,” says Natalie Tollefson, business operations manager at Gundersen Boscobel. “She always does a demonstration using that specific month's food box contents.”

‘When we make deliveries, we see the whole person’

Dan and Brooke say the opportunity to deliver food to participants’ homes allows them to see a broader picture of their lives.

“When these folks go to the clinic, their care team just sees what’s in front of them. When we make deliveries to their homes, we see the whole person,” Dan says. “When you see that person in their natural habitat, you get a much wider perspective on what they’re going through.”