Need Help with Grocery Shopping or Cooking? These 15+ Programs Help People Living with a Serious Illness

Jul 24, 2026
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When you’re living with or caring for someone with a serious illness, grocery shopping and cooking . Maybe you don’t have the time or energy, or you’re experiencing common symptoms such as nausea, or a change in taste or appetite. And of course, there’s cost. Whatever the reason, getting food on the table is a common challenge, but there are resources that can help.

Start by talking with your palliative care team (or, if you don’t have one yet, a social worker, registered dietitian, or patient navigator) about local resources through the hospital or community.

We’ve also rounded up several organizations below. Some require a referral from your health care team, and eligibility may depend on age, income, or diagnosis, so it’s worth exploring to see what may work for you.

These Programs May Help Make Getting Food on the Table Easier

Financial and Grocery Assistance

SNAP provides monthly grocery benefits based on income and household size. If you’re 60 or older, or have a disability, ask about an extra medical expense deduction that can increase your benefit. You can use your SNAP benefits to order groceries online through Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, and other approved retailers, which can help if getting to a store is hard.
Feeding America helps you find your nearest food bank for free groceries, including mobile pantries, and can also assist when applying for SNAP benefits. If you’re 60 or older, ask about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which offers a free monthly box of groceries through many local food banks.
Instacart Health Fresh Funds offers a grocery stipend for healthy food through some hospitals, doctor’s offices, and insurance companies. Check with your care team to see if this is an option.
Veterans Food Assistance Program provides a one-time grant of essential food and household support to veterans and their families.

Community Meal Support

Lasagna Love matches you with a volunteer nearby who cooks a free, home-cooked meal and delivers it to you, without needing to provide documentation. Volunteers complete food safety training before their first delivery.
Meals on Wheels delivers prepared meals directly to your door, often at no cost or on a sliding scale. It’s generally available to adults 60 and older who have difficulty shopping or cooking.
Meal trains are a great option if friends or family are looking for concrete ways to help. Set one up for free through a site like Meal Train or Give InKind, where people can sign up to bring or send meals on a schedule.
Local community or religious centers may offer their own meal support, from food pantries to volunteer-led meal delivery for people experiencing a personal hardship. Even if you’re not a member, it’s worth checking to see how they help the community.
Local mutual aid groups may also help connect you with meals, groceries, or other support. They are usually organized by neighbors and local volunteers. To see if there’s one near you, you can search online for “mutual aid” plus your city or neighborhood name (or the Mutual Aid Hub directory).

Medically Tailored Meals

These programs are typically accessed through a referral from your team or health insurance plan, if “Medically Tailored Meals” are a covered benefit for you.

Food is Medicine Coalition provides free, ready-to-eat meals or groceries catered to your specific medical needs while working directly with a registered dietitian nearby. Not every area has a program, so if nothing’s available near you, Mom’s Meals below is an option.
Mom’s Meals delivers prepared, medically tailored meals for people with serious illnesses such as heart failure, kidney disease, and cancer. If your Medicaid or Medicare Advantage plan covers this, it will be free; otherwise, you can purchase meals directly.

Cancer-Specific Meal Delivery Programs

National Ovarian Cancer Coalition offers free, ready-to-heat meals to anyone with ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, plus a caregiver, across the country (except Alaska and Hawaii).
American Cancer Society’s Findhelp helps you locate food delivery, food pantry, community food programs, and nutrition education resources that are closest to your community.
Culinary Care delivers free, restaurant-prepared lunches to outpatient cancer treatment centers in Dallas and Chicago, for patients and the person with them.
Comfort Cuisine provides four weeks of free meals for people with cancer and a caregiver facing food insecurity in participating oncology practices in Michigan.

Talk to Your Care Team

Remember, it’s important to talk to your care team if you’re struggling to get the food you need. There are many team members who can help, from a social worker connecting you with local resources for shopping or the cost of food, to a registered dietitian who can help you manage a changing appetite, nausea, or other side effects.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is provided by a specially trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists who work together with your other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided alongside curative treatments.

To learn more about palliative care and how it can help, explore more of GetPalliativeCare.org. You’ll find helpful resources, including a quick quiz to see if palliative care might be right for you or your loved one. Plus, you can learn how to ask your doctor for a referral.

If you liked this blog post, you may be interested in reading other roundups that offer practical help to people living with a serious illness, and their families and caregivers: