Access to Healthier Foods for Idaho Local Food Pantries

摘要

For many struggling with poverty, consuming a nutritious diet while managing an existing chronic condition can be extremely challenging. Often times food bank/pantries offer an emergency resource to help promote health to families in need, however, many of them lack healthy foods to improve nutrition, health and well-being. In Idaho's Kootenai County, over 35,000 people are food insecure, 13.1% of the population with over 6000 of them being children, 17.1% of the population. University Of Idaho Extension Eat Smart Idaho program, with funding from USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education and the Department of Health and Welfare, have created their Healthy Food Bank/Pantry Protocol and Healthy Food Drive Protocol to help mesh our food bank network with healthier food options and give access to healthier foods to our low income families.