GROW has been supporting NICU families at UVMMC with home-cooked meals and trauma-informed personal care for the past 2 years, and we hope to continue! Will you help us pay for this project to support these families?
The past two years this project has been supported by a federal grant that is ending. We are raising money through this gofundme for funds to pay Emily for her time cooking and bringing food to the NICU plus purchasing ingredients. The meals are the driver of the conversations and the most important part of our weekly connection at UVMMC.
Last year we crowd-funded for the cost of the food, and we are so thankful for all of the donations. Emily's monthly rotation includes baked ziti, fried rice, shepherds pie and mac n cheese.
If this project speaks to you, please consider supporting us with donations for our 2025-2026 NICU meals!
Here's what we've noticed after our 2 years with this project:
- Nurses are saying the meals and one-on-one support helps families in a way that they're not able to.
- We have had significant interactions with NICU families with limited resources and/or experiencing homelessness.
- Providing a home-cooked meal allows us to begin a conversation about either/both the highs or lows that they faced on this particular day. We have had families share their birth stories, helping them process their experience.
Any amount helps! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Susan Cline Lucey, GROW Prenatal & Family Owner
Emily Fujioka, NICU Project Coordinator/Postpartum Doula for the NICU