Safeway grant explores nexus between food and cancer
Originally posted by UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center received a $50,000 grant from the Safeway Foundation to study how food insecurity might impact the survival of late-stage breast cancer patients.
Predoctoral cancer researcher Charlotte Bergheimer received the Safeway grant. She’ll examine the relationship between the magnitude of food insecurity and the ability of low-income women to get cancer screening and care as recommended by their doctors.
“Thanks to Safeway’s efforts to help breast cancer patients live their lives to the fullest extent possible, we now have adequate funding to research the impact food insecurity is having on breast cancer screening and the survival rate of low-income women with advanced stage breast cancer,” said UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Charlotte Bergheimer. “The $50,000 grant from Safeway will help us evaluate the feasibility of a community-based program for increasing breast cancer screening among women who identify as food insecure, which can be a barrier to preventative cancer care and early diagnosis.”
Safeway said more than $1.2 million has been donated to nonprofit organizations and research institutions dedicated to fighting breast cancer. Donations were collected at check stands during the month of April at over 280 Safeway stores across the Northern California Division.
“Supporting the health and wellness of our communities is a vital component of the Safeway mission,” said Karl Schroeder, Safeway’s Division President of Northern California. “We take great pride each year in raising funds for breast cancer research and we are honored to partner alongside these organizations as they tirelessly work to find new ways to combat this disease.”
The funds will be used to benefit 32 breast cancer programs, which are aimed at helping increase access to cancer prevention, researching alternative cancer medicines and supporting patients enrolled in trial programs. The nonprofit organizations who benefited from the donations were invited to submit a grant proposal for funding consideration.