Health & Hygiene

Most of us go to the grocery store and put whatever we want in our carts, not considering how much is food and how much is not food. When people using Food Stamp benefits go to the grocery store, they must have cash for any non-food items they need, as these items cannot be purchased with Food Stamps. Consequently, poor families, unemployed persons, and elderly persons on fixed incomes often must do without things that are essential for health and well being..things like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, cold medications, and pain relievers. Lack of these items can cause serious complications in their lives, interfering with their ability to function effectively on a daily basis and potentially leading to serious illness.

Brooke Gumm, a nurse at Crossroad Health Center in Over-the-Rhine, sings the praises of the FreestoreFoodbank's Health & Hygiene program. "Many of our patients at Crossroad have no insurance and very low incomes. To be able to give them products like Triaminic or Lamisil or other expensive over-the-counter medications is a very important part of our service to the community. These products can often help children get over a cold or flu with less discomfort and can help prevent more serious illnesses that put unbearable strain on already struggling families."

A study by researchers at Northwestern University has shown that non-prescription over-the-counter medications such as cough syrups, cold and flu remedies, decongestants and allergy treatments have a significant impact in terms of preventing more serious infections. Consequently, the use of these products can prevent unnecessary physician or emergency room visits, improve work productivity for adults, prevent lost school days for children, and reduce the inappropriate use of prescription drugs. Northwestern researchers estimate that the overall savings from use of over-the-counter medications can be as high as $4.75 billion a year on a national basis.

Persons at risk already for infectious disease, due to conditions of poverty that sometimes prevent them from practicing good hygiene, are more likely to suffer more severe symptoms and long-term consequences of colds, flu and allergies than those who are better able to prevent these conditions or treat them in the early stages. The disadvantaged are the very people who end up in emergency rooms or at clinics with serious symptoms needing treatment they cannot afford. Many of these persons are the working poor, employed in low-paying, unstable jobs. If they miss work due to personal illness or the illness of a child, they risk losing their jobs. And so, the consequences of a minor illness are anything but minor...impacting our entire community by increasing healthcare costs, contributing to unemployment, and interfering with education.

The FreestoreFoodbank, with the help of the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and other donors, established the Health & Hygiene program to distribute products like those listed above to needy families throughout the Tri-state. Each year, the program distributes product with an estimated retail value of nearly $6.5 million!