Kara Sutton's office looks like any other, but if you look closely at the file cabinet, you'll notice labels that read "pasta, oatmeal, desserts, chili." Welcome to BJC Home Care Service's food pantry, where social workers and registered nurses stock groceries for their patients. "Sometimes patients have to decide between paying for their medications or their food, and medications often win," says Sutton, a QI/education nurse.

The 200 employees of the St. Louis division of Home Care keep the pantry stocked. "Everyone tries to do their part," says Sutton. "Whether it's one can or a whole sack of groceries, it all helps." When the pantry gets low, e-mails bring in donations from across the area. 

"When we go to a patient's house, we make sure there is adequate nutrition in the home, someone to help the patient get the food, and money to purchase the food," says Elizabeth Harris, MSW, LCSW, a Home Care social worker. "We work with community resources, but often there is an immediate need. For these patients, our food bank is essential until Meals on Wheels or another support system can be arranged."

The pantry began in 2001 when Judi Laschober, RN, was shopping for one of her patients who needed groceries. Nurses and social workers often paid for food out of their own pockets. She and another Home Care employee, Lisa Schneider, came up with the idea, and Laschober enlisted her first-grade Brownie troop to help get the pantry organized.

"Some of our patients come from out of state and stay at the American Cancer Center's Hope Lodge while they receive treatments for cancer," Laschober says. "Others might have just come home from the hospital. We make sure they have something to eat until they can get to a community food pantry or until their next check comes in. Often people are discharged on a weekend when other resources are closed."

"One of my patients was discharged last December from the hospital and had four children at home," says Harris. "She is diabetic, and the limited food that she can eat tends to be more expensive. She had just moved, and her previous landlord had thrown out all of her furniture, cooking utensils -- everything.

"We brought the family food, and employees donated furniture, utensils and clothing," Harris says. "While many of the traditional avenues for help are inundated during the holidays with requests, we were able to provide support for this family in time for Christmas."