Healthcare Access Partnership Links OhioHealth, Dublin Food Pantry, and City Schools

For Dublin families trying to secure medical care or enough nutritious food, local services start at several doors, not one. The OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital’s Family Medicine Residency program, Dublin Food Pantry and Dublin City Schools are linked through school-based care, physician-initiated food referrals and pop-up food distributions shared with district families.

Each route works differently. Students receive care at district clinic sites. FARMacy begins when a resident physician identifies a patient at risk of hunger and schedules a pantry visit. The district shares pop-up distribution dates, while OhioHealth Sports Medicine separately provides food and after-school snacks for student athletes experiencing food insecurity.

The distinction matters amid documented access gaps. In the 2025 Dublin Methodist Hospital Community Health Needs Assessment, 16% of residents reported difficulty obtaining physical or dental care during the previous year, while 15% reported difficulty obtaining mental health care.

The assessment also identified transportation challenges for health-care visits and grocery trips, along with a need for centralized health-care access information. Dublin City Schools lists transportation, housing and work-life balance among the social determinants that can limit students’ access to care.

School-day care

The district and residency program provide advocacy and health-care services to students, including those facing financial and other barriers.

The school-based clinic began at Davis Middle School in 2021, initially providing required vaccinations during the school day before expanding to other district sites. The district credits the Davis clinic with reducing vaccine noncompliance while keeping students connected to their education.

Dublin City Schools’ OhioHealth clinics provide well-child checks and immunizations, with sports physicals available at some schools.

The district’s published 2026 schedule covers clinic dates from Aug. 26 through Dec. 16:

• Elementary schools: Hopewell on Sept. 9 and Oct. 28; Thomas on Oct. 7 and Dec. 2; and Wright on Sept. 30 and Nov. 18.
• Middle schools: Davis on Aug. 26, Oct. 14 and Dec. 9; and Sells on Sept. 16 and Nov. 4.
• High schools: Dublin Coffman on Sept. 2, Oct. 21 and Dec. 16; and Dublin Scioto on Sept. 23 and Nov. 11.

Food referrals and distribution

OhioHealth says Dublin Methodist Hospital began working closely with the pantry in December 2024, coordinating dates and times for pop-up distributions.

The residency program joined that work the following spring. Dr. Rebecca Grant, associate program director for the residency program, said, “Beginning in March 2025, our Residency Program partnered with the Dublin Food Pantry to address food insecurity among Dublin City Schools students.”

Through FARMacy, a resident physician identifies someone at risk of hunger, schedules a pantry trip and provides a FARMacy Membership Card for produce and other fresh foods. Resident physicians and faculty also participate in monthly pantry sessions focused on food insecurity as a social determinant of health.

Pop-up pantries follow a separate path, bringing food closer to families across all eight ZIP codes in the school district. The district shares distribution dates with families, while residents and pantry volunteers coordinate and distribute the food.

For regular service, Dublin Food Pantry serves income-eligible residents of the City of Dublin or the Dublin City School District area. The pantry is at 6608 Dublin Center Drive, with distribution hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to noon Thursday.

Eligible households may visit twice a month through walk-in intake. Adults should bring photo identification and proof of address.

The scale of need

Each route addresses a specific barrier. School clinics provide care during the school day. Pop-up pantries reduce the distance families travel for groceries. FARMacy turns a physician’s hunger screening into a scheduled pantry visit and access to fresh food.

Across its full distribution network, Dublin Food Pantry served 3,482 children under 18 and 807 seniors in 2025. That year, it served 10,487 households and provided 631,041 meals.