An essential part of healing

Dartmouth Cancer Center’s new Healing Harvest food pantry

It started several years ago with a small stockpile of canned goods in the office of Catherine Reed, then an oncology social worker at Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC). Reed had noticed that many patients came to their treatments hungry because they struggled with food insecurity. She would offer them food from her stockpile.

By 2022, that effort had grown into the DCC Food Pantry, a small space within the radiation oncology clinic space that twice a month provided 150 patients with a week’s worth of groceries. In 2024, a full-time manager, Julia (“Jules”) Boger-Hawkins, was hired. “It was quickly obvious to me that there is a great need,” she says.

In fact, the need is so great that the food pantry expanded once again in February 2025—into a new space and with a new name, Healing Harvest. Still located within the Cancer Center, its capacity has more than quadrupled, increasing access for many more cancer patients. BogerHawkins says, “We now have the ability to store 200 orders worth of food. At present, we’re averaging 20 to 25 orders a day. The average patient visits us every two to three weeks and receives two or three bags of groceries.”

The name Healing Harvest was chosen thoughtfully. “We chose ‘harvest’ to emphasize our connection with local farms and fresh produce. And we chose 'healing' because we want to emphasize a new concept in oncology, ‘food is medicine,’” Boger-Hawkins says. “Good nutrition is an essential part of healing.”

She adds, "It's well established that malnutrition leads to negative outcomes in cancer treatment, so dealing with food insecurity is an integral part of our commitment to the highest quality, comprehensive cancer care.” Healing Harvest is one of only a handful of food pantries at cancer centers across the country, but the number is increasing as the emphasis on whole-person cancer care grows.

The reasons for food insecurity among some cancer patients are many, Boger-Hawkins says. "The national average age of a first cancer diagnosis is 60, so we're looking at a lot of patients who are on fixed

incomes. Many of them live alone, without a care partner. And, in our rural communities, because of transportation issues, or maybe because they're just too tired, patients can't get to a grocery store." Also, she adds, if a patient is immunocompromised from cancer treatment, they should try to avoid public places.

With the help of new technology, an efficient, online ordering system is now in place. Boger-Hawkins says cancer patients, all of whom are eligible for Healing Harvest services while receiving treatment at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), can use a touchscreen kiosk to place a customized grocery order. “Then, after they check out, we can pack their order right away and leave it for them at a pick-up nook outside of the space, or deliver curbside at the DHMC entrance.”

Proceeds from the annual Prouty fundraiser event and private donors fund the effort, and local community organizations donate some of the food. All of the bread is donated by King Arthur Baking Company. Willing Hands and Cedar Circle Farm donate produce.

The work of Healing Harvest would not be possible without the volunteers, says Boger-Hawkins, who is the only paid employee. “The team we have is so inspiring and so dedicated. Many of them are cancer survivors themselves or have seen others go through treatment. It’s really special to see the volunteers put a loving touch on everything that we do.” Help also comes from Medical Student Schweitzer Fellows and Dartmouth Undergraduate Fellows who undertake self-directed projects researching Healing Harvest and testing out ways of improving service.

Ahead, Boger-Hawkins sees the need for a significant expansion of the program. "We just hit a milestone last week of 1% of all of the DHMC cancer population has now been served, which is obviously a tiny number. Our goal is to serve every single one of those people who is experiencing food insecurity. In five to 10 years, I think we need to be planning to serve 4,000 to 6,000 patients a year.”

“Dealing with food insecurity is an integral part of our commitment to the highest quality, comprehensive cancer care.”

-Julia (“Jules”) Boger-Hawkins, manager of Healing Harvest