Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine Hosts Hunger Awareness Presentation

Monday, December 29, 2003

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine will host a presentation to increase local hunger awareness on Monday, Jan. 5, 2004. The hour-long event entitled Serving the Underserved in Olmsted County will feature Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede and Carla Johnson, executive director of the Channel One Food Bank and Food Shelf.

Serving the Underserved in Olmsted County will take place from 12:10-1 p.m. at Mayo Clinic, Leighton Auditorium, Siebens Building, 200 First Street SW. The public is welcome to attend.

Nourishment is one the most basic human needs, and this Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine program encourages health care providers to better understand the challenges hunger presents to patients' health and happiness. According to local food assistance organizations, the number of families needing food assistance is growing. Monthly, 3,500 households use the Channel One Food Shelf. The number of families needing a weekly food supply increased 21 percent in the last year to 1,700.

This presentation is a Joseph M. Kiely, M.D. Humanities in Medicine Program, funded by the Jack Taylor Family Foundation. The annual program honors Dr. Kiely, a longtime Mayo physician, for his dedication to creating excellent patient-physician relationships.

The Channel One Food Bank and Food Shelf is a food distribution network for soup kitchens, food shelves, shelter and residential facilities dedicated to feeding people. In 2002, Channel One distributed nearly five million pounds of food in southeast Minnesota.

The Mayo Clinic Center for Humanities in Medicine integrates the arts, history and ethics into the medical environment to support the ideal that the needs of the patient come first.

Martha McFarland
John Murphy
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: newsbureau@mayo.edu

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