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According
to one survey respondent, RW funding allowed her to feel fortunate to be
able to provide high quality, multi-disciplinary care to patients without
regarding their ability to pay. Only 18 out of 27 U.S. nutritionists identified
government funding as a source of program support. It is likely that at
least some of the other nine facilities received RW funding but were not
aware of it.
Six respondents (three
in outpatient care and three at food banks) reported grant writers on staff.
One survey respondent listed eight different kinds of funding avenues.
Organizations may also receive in-kind donations through the work of volunteers
and equipment donations but these assets were not listed on the survey.
Although RW money allows for physicians to see patients, there may be no
provisions for nutritional services including food, nutritional supplements,
or nutrition counseling.
Finding solutions to many
of the funding issues is not always easy but may be achieved through inventive
ideas. For instance, a few clinicians noted difficulty getting nutritional
supplements due to a lack of funding. Some RDs solicit representatives
for supplies to at least give the patients something to try and use for
a limited time. Nutritional supplements can often be secured from company
representatives researching new products or those who have close to out-dated
products that can be distributed but are not perceived as worthy of their
full purchase price by hospitals and other agencies.
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