A sorter at Food for Free in December 2020, when Lesley University made a $10,000 donation to help ease food insecurity in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Lesley University)

The Cambridge Public Health Department was recognized for a program that supplied food to individuals and families required to isolate because of a positive test for Covid-19, the department announced Friday. The department was one of 24 health agencies nationwide that won an Innovative Practice Award in July from the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

The city health department worked with the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, the city’s anti-poverty agency, and the nonprofit Food for Free to bring food, gift cards and other supplies to residents with Covid-19 who had no one to shop for them and couldn’t afford home delivery. The campaign was set up in January 2020 after just four weeks of planning.

It has served 180 households so far, the health department said. Those in need were identified by contact tracers who called infected residents to check up on their situation. CEOC and Food for Free shared the innovative practice award with the health department.

This post was written from a press release.