Frank Lobo Memorial Fund

Francis Lobo. Photo courtesy of Yale School of Medicine website

The Frank Lobo Memorial Fund has been created by New Haven Farms (NHF) and by Frank's friends who wish to honor his memory by enhancing support for NHF's Farm Based Wellness Program (FBWP). NHF is a nonprofit organization that converts abandoned lots into urban farms that grow food as medicine, catalyzing long-term change in our community. By endowing a fund that will sponsor at least one family per year for their participation in the FBWP, we hope to create a permanent legacy in Frank's honor.

Frank was an avid promoter of the FBWP, which collaborates with health care providers who refer low-income patients with risk factors for chronic diet-related disease to the FBWP. By engaging these New Haven families to work on the farm, participate in mindfulness, exercise, cooking and food education classes, and by providing them with a weekly share of the Farm's organic fruits and vegetables, the FBWP has achieved overwhelmingly positive results for these at-risk families. The FBWP is a creative, practical and community-based solution to the concurrent crises of diet-related disease and environmental degradation. Frank believed in the power of this innovative program and worked passionately to promote this model.

Those who were lucky to know Frank will remember him as a brilliant physician who was renowned for his expertise in treating patients with rare immune deficiency disorders and who took pride in mentoring aspiring physicians at all levels of their training. Frank was also an impassioned health crusader and community activist. Merging his devotion to his patients and his commitment to the wider New Haven community, Frank spent much of his time and energy outside of work volunteering with NHF. At the time of his death in December 2018, Frank was a member of NHF's Board of Directors.

To support the Farm-Based Wellness Program at New Haven Farms in Frank's memory, please donate to the Frank Lobo Memorial Fund below.