Food Outreach

Renee Johnson, a third-generation United States Air Force veteran and two-time Food Outreach client.

Food Outreach is the only St. Louis-area organization providing free nutritional support to food-insecure individuals living with HIV or cancer. 

Founded in 1988, we now provide medically tailored meals and groceries, nutritional counseling, home delivery, and nutritional education to over 1,800 neighbors. Community support allows us to deliver services with the excellence and kindness everyone deserves — no matter who they love, what they look like, or where they live.

Serving individuals living with HIV and/or cancer living at or below the Federal Poverty Line, and never with a waitlist, our free offerings include: 

• nutritious meals, groceries, and fresh produce, designed by our Chef and Registered Dietitians 
• individualized dietetic counseling and nutrition classes
• meals home-delivered to clients struggling with mobility 
• all services are free

Our program provides each individual with two nutritious meals per day — combined with nutrition counseling by our Registered Dietitians, Food Outreach supports wellness, healing, and quality of life. 

In 2025, Food Outreach offered these services to clients living in over 140 area zip codes, including 540,750 meals, 3,800 of which were personally home-delivered. And by the end of 2026, our agency will be the first and only Food Is Medicine Coalition-accredited provider in the state, meeting rigorous national standards to provide wellness and empowerment through "medically tailored" meals and groceries.

In addition to fresh and nutritious food, our clients share that the consideration and kindness of our team creates a sense of community.

Hear the impact from a client: 

“At Food Outreach, I felt like I had a sense of support. I didn’t have very much support when I was going through my cancer treatment. My spouse at that time was filing for divorce. All of my parents and grandparents and godparents are gone. And I was facing this pretty much by myself. Food Outreach was the one place that I always looked forward to coming to... Sitting in the infusion room by myself, it was nice to know that I was getting ready to go to Food Outreach, because that’s where I got my sense of community... Food Outreach served me in that way — it was so much more than just the food.”

- Renee Johnson, a third-generation United States Air Force veteran and two-time Food Outreach client.