The specialty foods division of Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn., partnered with the Cancer Nutrition Consortium, West Palm Beach, Fla., to provide cancer patients with nutritional offerings for their specific individual needs during cancer treatment. The Cancer Nutrition Consortium is an innovative collaboration among some of the most notable cancer centers, chefs and nutritional experts focusing on nutritional concerns of patients undergoing cancer treatment.

“This is a very unique partnership between academia, medicine and manufacturer,” says Chet Rao, Hormel specialty foods business development manager. “What we are doing is working with the organizations that know the specialized nutritional needs cancer patients require and helping to make and produce food that meets those needs. This aligns with the specialty foods division’s priorities of providing food items for activity, performance and recovery.”
 
The Hormel Foods products developed in conjunction with the Cancer Nutrition Consortium will be made available on the Hormel Foods health foods site at www.homecarenutrition.com. Consumers will have the ability to order special nutrition products with free home delivery directly to their door. Hormel Foods specialty foods division offers a broad line of products like Thick & Easy food and beverage thickeners, Med Pass 2.0 fortified nutritional shakes and Healthy Shot protein supplement beverages for those with special nutritional needs. Previously, these products were primarily sold at nursing homes and hospitals.

Hormel Foods and the Cancer Nutrition Consortium expect the new products to be available in late 2015.