Senator Hassan Recognizes Catherine Reed of Hanover as May’s Granite Stater of the Month

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan recognized Catherine Reed of Hanover as May’s Granite Stater of the Month. Catherine started an innovative program at the Dartmouth Cancer Center to provide food assistance to cancer patients, helping them access fresh and healthy food that is donated by local nonprofits.  

While Catherine was working at the Dartmouth Cancer Center as a social worker, she discovered that there was a significant gap in resources for her patients. She realized that there were very few options for food assistance and that the stigma surrounding food insecurity stopped many of her patients from asking for help. Partnering with her coworker, Chelsey Canavan, Catherine was able to open the Food-Is-Medicine Pantry. 

Through her work as a social worker, Catherine saw first-hand the impact that food assistance can have for cancer patients and not only started this pantry, but then further expanded it after its initial success. The program has now grown to include all patients at the Cancer Center. For each patient who chooses to participate, their entire family is provided with fresh food.  

Catherine’s attentiveness to her patients is a great example of the Granite State spirit of going above and beyond for your community. She saw a problem, and did not look around for someone else to solve it. She got to work. Her determination and her compassion is why Senator Hassan named her May’s Granite Stater of the Month.

Senator Hassan launched the “Granite Stater of the Month” initiative in 2017 to recognize outstanding New Hampshire citizens who go above and beyond to help their neighbors and make their communities stronger. To nominate a New Hampshire citizen to be a “Granite Stater of the Month,” constituents can complete the nomination form here. 

To read Senator Hassan’s statement for the Congressional Record, see below.

I am honored to recognize Catherine Reed of Hanover as May’s Granite Stater of the Month. Catherine started a food pantry, called the Food-is-Medicine Pantry, at the Dartmouth Cancer Center when she saw how many of her cancer patients needed food assistance.   

Three years ago, Catherine was working at the Dartmouth Cancer Center as a social worker when she discovered that there was a significant gap in resources for her patients. She was helping a patient get assistance with paying for rent, car payments, and fuel oil, but learned that the patient was also struggling to afford their groceries. Catherine realized that there were very few options for food assistance for her patients, and the stigma surrounding food insecurity stopped many of her patients from asking for help. Catherine decided to take action, and with the help of a coworker, Chelsey Canavan, Catherine secured funding for a food pantry at the Dartmouth Cancer Center, with fresh and healthy donations provided by a local nonprofit organization.   

Catherine knew that in order for the food pantry to improve the lives of her patients, she needed to make sure that anyone who needed help was comfortable asking for it. She explained to her patients that proper nutrition is a part of the treatment for their cancer, because the stronger that someone goes into treatment, the stronger they can come out of it. Catherine took grocery orders from her patients daily and delivered the groceries to people’s cars before they left in order to make things as easy as possible for them.  

Catherine saw first-hand the difference that food assistance makes for cancer patients. She began working to expand the food pantry program, including collecting data, presenting a poster at an oncology conference, contacting a hospital in Tennessee to learn about their food pantry so that she could model best practices, and creating a referral system to bring more patients into the program. The program’s eligibility has grown to include all patients at the center, and for each patient who chooses to participate, their entire family is provided with fresh and healthy food harvested and delivered by local organizations.   

Catherine’s attentiveness to her patients is a great example of the Granite State spirit of going above and beyond for your community. She saw a problem, and did not look around for someone else to solve it. She got to work. Her determination and her compassion is why I am proud to name her May’s Granite Stater of the Month.

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