Click here to read more: Eating Nutritiously A Struggle When Money Is Scarce

This article highlights some of the complexities of hunger in America. It’s not just about getting enough food, but getting enough of the right kinds of food, as well as understanding the importance of making the right choices.

It can be very challenging to eat healthy on a tight budget, but have we considered what price we are paying to not eat healthy? What price are our children paying? What affect has it had on our communities?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated  there is a similarity between low-income families trying to stretch scarce food dollars with high-calorie processed foods, “and youngsters who are just flat out not getting fed because their parents don’t have the resources to feed them.”

Elaine Livas, who runs Project SHARE, a food pantry in Pa., expressed that there’s something else to consider. As the nation becomes more health conscious, she’s noticing less healthy food coming to her pantry. She’s getting more sugar-coated cereals, for example, than the high-fiber ones she used to receive. “We can’t really complain that the poor are heavier, when what we’re donating is our kind of castaways,” she says.

What are your thoughts?

Maria Ali, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Manager

Let me tell you, it was some hard work! But I’m so happy we were able to collect 6,850 pounds of fresh vegetables to bring back to our community and provide to those in need. We were joined by an AmeriCorps group and a few other volunteers, one being a mom and her two sons.

The USDA reports that 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in this country every year, while more than 35 million Americans don’t get enough to eat. Wow!!! There was much more cabbage that could have been picked, but we only had so many hands, not to mention so much strength left. Each pile of cabbage that we picked had to be carried by hand back through the field to the truck.

Cabbage is full of water, which contributes to its weight. It’s a great vegetable that supplies nutrients that help to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, lung, stomach, and colorectal cancer. It’s also a great source of vitamin K, vitamin C and fiber. ½ cup cabbage only has about 16 Calories and provides almost 3 grams of fiber. It’s good stuff!

So thank you to SoSA, AmeriCorps, and the family that volunteered. Those 2 little boys earned 100 pennies…they’re mom rewarded them 1 penny for every head of cabbage they collected. If you’re interested in getting involved with SoSA visit their website:  www.endhunger.org .

Every extra helping hand provides healthier food to those who are hungry.

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Maria Ali
Nutrition Manager

A new report released Tuesday says more than 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too overweight to join the military.

The free and reduced school lunch program makes a big impact in our food insecure families.

What do you think can be done to not only provide food but provide healthy food to children?

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

Nutrition Manager Maria Ali

We need your input as parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or babysitters on what kids will not eat.

We’re thinking of the usual suspects: lima beans, broccoli, and beets, but want to build more of a consensus before finalizing our program.

Let us know what makes kids wrinkle their nose at dinner.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

Through the success of our program, we’ve found ourselves in the national spotlight. Last week the newly appointed Deputy Administrator for Food and Nutrition Service visited Second Harvest with other VIP officials from the USDA in addition to the food stamp team from local Department of Children and Families. They were thrilled with the stats we shared tracking the growth and impact of our food stamp program.

We love being able to share the success of our programs with all types of audiences.

Why don’t you come down to a Food for Thought and learn about all of the ways that we’re fighting hunger in Central Florida? We’ll give you the VIP tour.

Left to Right: Janet Foggs, Don Arnett, Sharron Washington, Lisa Pino, Dave Krepcho, Sandrene Stevens, Peggy Fouts, Nitza Colon, Yours Truly, Tom Sallette

Janet Foggs is a Government Operations Consultant, Don Arnett is the Regional Director for USDA Southeast, Sharron Washington is Circuit 9 ACCESS Operations Manager, Lisa Pino is USDA Deputy Administrator of Food and Nutrition Service, Sandrene Stevens is DCF Program Administrator for Orange County, Peggy Fouts is the Director for the Food and Nutrition Assistance Program for USDA Southeast Region and Tom Salette is Program Specialist for DCF.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

Happy New Years!

Many of us have made a commitment to live a healthier life in 2010. For me, I’ll be involved in the Pound for Pound Challenge. For the food bank, it involves hiring a Nutrition Manager.   Next week I will begin to sort through all of the applications we’ve received for the new Nutrition Manager position we’re hiring at the food bank. This blog gives me the unique opportunity to include you in our program development process from design to implementation to evaluation.

 Before we begin any new program we complete a thorough research process that includes needs analysis, best practices studies, and pilot programs. One of the greatest benefits of our membership with Feeding America is access to the nationwide network of food banks throughout America. Combining ideas from the network and listening to the needs of our own agencies we are able to take this list of possible nutritionist tasks and whittle it down to a program with a specific strategic plan and outcomes. Here’s what we’ve determined to be our areas of focus for our Nutrition Manager:

•  Nutrition Education for Program participants: The food bank’s Strategic plan has an entire section devoted to our commitment to address the Childhood Obesity challenges faced specifically by children in food insecure households. Research continues to prove that children in low-income households consistently have a high rate of obesity. One of the main reasons for this is that the foods that are the healthiest happen to also be the most expensive. If the closest food store to your house is the gas station or convenience store, then your dollar is going to stretch even thinner. 
• Nutrition Analysis of our program food: Every year, about 10% of our food is acquired through our Power Purchase Center in order to provide participating agencies menu consistency. Our Nutritionist would be able to analyze the food we purchase and determine possible alternatives to make sure the items we can select for purchase is nutritionally optimal.

Like any of our programs, the Nutrition program will evolve with the community’s needs. It’s especially exciting to get the person in the position and see them run with the program that we’ve been honing for months. I’ll be sure to fill you in with another progress report once we hire the best candidate!

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs