Three local non-profit organizations received grants totaling $25,000 from Holy Cross Hospital for food security initiatives.

“Food security should not be a concern for those facing hardship and economic crises, but it is,” said Sister Rita Levasseur, the non-profit hospital's vice president of sponsorship and mission effectiveness. “The Holy Cross Hospital food security grants will empower local organizations to help those in our community have access to sufficient food. Their work truly exemplifies the mission of the Sisters of Mercy.”

Henderson Behavioral Health’s Housing and Health Options Promote Empowerment (HHOPE) was awarded a $15,000 grant. With the grant, the HHOPE Housing First program for chronically homeless adults who have serious mental health illness will be able to provide healthy staple food items for individuals initially moving into stable housing.

The $5,000 grant to Jubilee Center of South Broward will provide emergency resources and relief from hunger and despair to the homeless and financially disadvantaged in Hallandale, Hollywood and Dania Beach. The grant will fund a hot meal Monday through Friday for one year for 125 people.

At St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Pompano Beach, the $5,000 grant from Holy Cross will help fund The Holy Grill, a food trailer that moves from private church site to church site serving breakfast and dinner to the homeless in Pompano Beach.

"Each year, the needs are greater and greater,” said Holy Cross Hospital President and CEO Patrick A. Taylor, M.D. “Through the work of these organizations, we can have a positive impact on those in our community. We are grateful to them for providing food security to our families, friends and neighbors.”   

The grants were given in honor of John C. Johnson, president emeritus and former chief executive officer of Holy Cross.

About Holy Cross Hospital

A part of Trinity Health, Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Holy Cross Hospital is a full-service, non-profit, Catholic, teaching hospital operating in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy. In 2016, U.S. News and World Report named Holy Cross Hospital among the top three hospitals in South Florida and one of only 63 in the nation to achieve “high performing” in all nine medical conditions surveyed. Through strategic collaborations and a commitment to being a person-centered, transforming, healing presence, the 557-bed hospital offers progressive inpatient, outpatient and community outreach services and clinical research trials to serve as our community’s trusted health partner for life.  To learn more about Holy Cross Hospital, visit holy-cross.com. Connect @holycrossfl.