On most Friday afternoons, you can find Jeff Dorman hanging out in the kitchen at Modern Apizza in New Haven. He chats with the chefs while they prepare more than a dozen pies, which he then shuttles over to the pediatric cancer center at Yale New Haven Hospital.
This very special weekly pizza delivery is part of Dorman’s work at the Feeding Families Foundation, a non-profit he started with his wife, Sam Dorman, that helps support parents of children undergoing cancer treatment who don’t have easy access to regular meals as they care for their children.
The foundation pays for food from the hospital and, on some days, delivers from some of New Haven’s most beloved restaurants to the hospital rooms.
The couple launched the organization last year to address a pain point they experienced first-hand: It can be expensive and inconvenient to eat when you’re in the hospital caring for a kid with cancer.
In September 2022, the Dormans’ 2-year-old daughter, Harper, was diagnosed with leukemia. Sam stayed at home in North Haven, caring for their oldest daughter, Olivia, and their newborn, Madison, while Jeff spent his days in the hospital with Harper, sometimes for weeks at a time.
Her meals were provided. But when Dorman started ordering hospital food for himself, the cost — at $10 a plate, two or three times a day — started adding up quickly.
Cancer patients and their families often experience financial strain that goes beyond the most obvious expense of medical bills, Jeff Dorman said. A parent or caregiver may be forced to scale back or stop working altogether to manage a loved one’s care, resulting in lost income. Over time, smaller expenses — like hospital parking, gas to cover trips to the doctor, and meals for anyone other than the patient — all begin to add up, too.
“The longer you’re in it, all of these different things start to mount and get very, very expensive. Food being one of them,” Dorman said.
During one of Harper’s hospital stays, an employee with the facility’s food services vendor at the time noticed Dorman wasn’t finding the time to eat. She offered to deliver and comp his meals for the duration of their stay. That small act made all the difference, he said.
“Having an omelette and a cup of coffee changes the whole trajectory of the day,” Dorman said. “The added stress of being hungry on top of all the other stress — that went away.”
When the Dormans were brainstorming ways to help other families facing a devastating diagnosis, they thought back to the impact of those meals.
When they started Feeding Families in January 2024, the service began by delivering one hospital meal a day, free of charge, to parents of children getting treated on the pediatric hematology oncology floor at Yale New Haven Hospital. Roughly five months later, they bumped it up to two meals per day.
When they began, small-dollar donations fueled the operation. Now, grants and bigger donors also help support the effort.
The Feeding Families Foundation plays an integral role in supporting patients beyond direct treatment, Kevin Billingsley, chief medical officer at Yale Cancer Center, said.
Physicians focus on the medical needs of the patient, but “there’s so much that goes into tending to the well-being of not just the patient but the family,” Billingsley said. “Jeff and Sam … recognized a need and brought people together to address that, and it’s so powerful.”
Today, the Feeding Families Foundation has delivered more than 2,000 meals. Later this year, they’re slated to expand their services to the pediatric intensive care unit at the hospital. In addition to the “Parent Plate Program,” which delivers meals, they have a “Snacks Program” that makes snacks available 24/7 for families who find themselves admitted to the hospital at odd hours of the night or early morning.
New Haven’s restaurant scene is getting involved, too. In addition to Modern, which donates pizza every Friday, Nolo provides pizza every Monday. Olmo Bagels, Haven Hot Chicken and the North Haven Olive Garden also regularly donate meals.
The foundation provides a way for the entire family to process the cancer experience, the Dormans said.
Harper finished treatment in June, three years after her initial diagnosis, and started kindergarten this week. Olivia, the Dormans’ oldest daughter, just started second grade, and Madison, who was born just weeks after her sister was diagnosed, turns three in October. Sometimes the girls accompany their parents on meal deliveries to the hospital.
“It’s really nice,” Sam Dorman said. “It’s like healing for them to be able to go and give back.”
