Feeding America Launches Healthy Food Bank Hub

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            Feeding America in partnership with the National Dairy Council and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics announced the launch of the Healthy Food Bank Hub. The Healthy Food Bank Hub is a micro-site of feedingamerica.org developed with support of fellow partners and network food banks and an educational grant from the National Dairy Council. It was developed in an effort to provide a platform for the growing conversation between public health and hunger-relief professionals on the issues of food insecurity, improved nutrition, and reducing the risk of diet-related diseases.

            Nearly 49 million people in the U.S. live in food-insecure households and diet-related diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes are at epidemic levels; people served by the Feeding America network are often disproportionately impacted by obesity. The Healthy Food Bank Hub is working to equip hunger-relief and nutrition professionals with tools and resources that not only address food insecurity, but also promote good nutrition, health, and wellness in communities across the country.

            The Healthy Food Bank Hub serves as an asset for nutrition education by providing handouts, evaluations, and healthy, budget-friendly recipes for food banks and community organizations. All materials on the micro-site have been evaluated and improved by nutrition professionals. The micro-site will also connect public health and nutrition professionals with opportunities to learn more about hunger in their communities.

            It is great to see a collaboration of national organizations to try to make an impact on nutrition in hunger-relief. Not only does the micro-site provide information for public health professionals, it also provides nutrition information to those seeking hunger-relief. Hopefully, this information is also available in print format at food banks across the country for individuals whom don’t have access to a computer. It would be great to see hunger-relief with healthy nutrition options to help prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes that plague Feeding America food bank participants.

Feeding America (2013 Oct. 21). Feeding America Launches Healthy Food Bank Hub. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved from: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/21/5839025/feeding-america-launches-healthy.html#

-MG

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