Published on December 18, 2018

The Owensboro Health GIVES 2018 Food Drive makes a difference

Woody Woodward, executive director of the Help Office of Owensboro, and Owensboro Health VP for Community and Government Affairs Steve Johnson pose with a check donated as part of this year's Owensboro Health Gives food drive.

The Owensboro Health Gives Food Drive for 2018 has wrapped up, with tons of food being distributed to area agencies.

At the Gives liaison breakfast on Tuesday, December 18, Owensboro Health Employee Engagement and Community Engagement announced the totals for the drive. Those totals are as follows:

Food donated:

To the Help Office of Owensboro: 5 tons of food (and counting, as bins are still being collected and food items are delivered)
To Hope2All food pantry in Muhlenberg County: 3.75 tons of food

Money donated:

To the Help Office of Owensboro: $14,298
To Hope2All food pantry in Muhlenberg County: $7,012

Steve Johnson, Owensboro Health’s VP for Government and Community Affairs, said he wants the liaisons and everyone who supported the food drive to know the difference they make.

“Please know what an impact this is. This can allow people to have a Christmas or a Thanksgiving or just some needed help,” Johnson said.

Help Office Executive Director Woody Woodward said that his agency provides about 80,000 meals a year and Owensboro Health provides about 40 percent of those. Woodward said he doesn’t know what they would do without Owensboro Health’s support.

“We don't want to find out what it would be like to not be partners with you, because you make such a difference,” Woodward said. “I can’t thank
you enough.”

Woodward added that helping families put food on the table is already a big deal, but the nearly 300 hams and turkeys donated from Owensboro Health’s annual employee gifts go even further.

“There’s always a few seconds of silence, where they wonder if it’s real,” Woodward said, explaining the surprise that recipients experience when being told they’re also getting a ham or turkey. “To add that to what we provide to them means the world.”

About Owensboro Health

Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering and the only hospital in the world to be designated a Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International, Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital, the Owensboro Health Medical Group comprising over 180 providers in 25 locations, a certified medical fitness facility, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center. Owensboro Health has been recognized for outstanding care, safety and clinical excellence by The Joint Commission, U.S. News & World Report and Becker’s Hospital Review. As the largest employer west of Louisville, Owensboro Health has 4,088 employees, and in FY 2015 saw 18,380 inpatient admissions and 823,072 outpatient encounters. A committed community partner, Owensboro Health provided grants of $702,924 in the last year to health, social service, education and arts agencies across the region. For more information, visit owensborohealth.org.