The Reading Hospital Magnet Champions Team partnered with Helping Harvest to coordinate the 2022 Pound Per Person Food Challenge at Reading Hospital. All Hospital employees were challenged to donate one pound of food per person – with a goal to collect 6,000 pounds total to support Helping Harvest and the more than 110,000 people it feeds annually.
Generous and caring employees surpassed that goal by donating 8,800 pounds of food.
More than 90 departments participated and donated food staples such as canned goods, cereals, pastas, personal hygiene items, pet food, cleaning products, and more. Two teams are being recognized for making the largest per capita and largest overall donations.
The Reading Hospital Center for Public Health, a team of 13 individuals, collected 308.7 pounds (23.75 pounds per person). The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) nursing team of 40 individuals collected a total of 331.02 pounds.
“The past two years have been difficult for all of us,” said Rosemary Wurster, DNP, RN, MPH, NEA-BC, CEN, Reading Hospital Chief Nursing Officer. “I am so proud that after everything our team members have been through, they wanted to support Helping Harvest to ensure that the under-served families and individuals in our community have access to healthy food.”
Jay Worrall, President, Helping Harvest said, “Helping Harvest is so grateful to the team members at Reading Hospital for their help in feeding our hungry neighbors. This is Helping Harvest’s largest annual corporate food drive, and the team collected slightly more than double last year’s amount. We look forward to continuing this food drive with them next year.”
