Data and automation are not exactly dirty words at food pantries, but they are far from commonplace. A Des Moines food pantry network, however, is embracing both to help it nudge clients toward healthier options and also energize its advocacy efforts. Like many food pantries, the Des Moines Area Religious…
Food Bank News
Compared to the general population, the number of college students who are food-insecure is shockingly high, a reality that is pushing food banks into new partnerships with college campuses. While 12% of U.S. households are food-insecure, a whopping 45% of college students surveyed reported being food-insecure in the nation’s largest…
How often do food banks roll out programs in which 95% of the targeted clients participate? It’s happening in Florida, with nearly all of the 2,055 seniors signed up for a fruit and vegetable purchasing program taking advantage of it, according to the three partners behind the program. The program…
As one of the first food pantries in the country to move to a digital ordering and reservation system, Lutheran Social Services in Ohio is providing time-saving benefits to clients, while cutting costs. LSS, which serves about 2,000 food-pantry clients a month in the Columbus area, started letting clients order…
Obesity in America is getting worse, and is particularly severe among low-income populations, underscoring the importance of emphasizing nutrition in charitable food programs. The latest statistics related to obesity, released last week by Trust for America’s Health, show that nine U.S. states had adult obesity rates above 35% in 2018,…
Food banks today feel pressure to address root causes of hunger like poverty and inequity, while still solving day-to-day food insecurity. So the question of how non-profits should participate in the food justice movement was a pertinent one, when Suzanne Babb of WhyHunger asked it of two keynote panelists at…
It seems pretty obvious that one way to reduce healthcare costs in a community is to get area hospitals and doctors to lower their prices for drugs and services. Actually, a better way would be to reduce food insecurity. Food insecurity accounted for nearly $53 billion of extra healthcare expenditures…
Like many food pantry managers, the ones at Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges in New Jersey wanted their clients to be able to choose their foods, as if in a grocery store. But they also saw a lot of obstacles: they didn’t have a dedicated space for their pantry,…
About a year and a half ago, an anonymous donor handed Three Square Food Bank a windfall and a challenge: $10 million to end senior hunger in and around Las Vegas. Since then, the food bank has revamped its senior hunger program and begun laying the groundwork for systemic change…