San Diego may seem like an affluent area, but the mountain communities in the eastern part of the county still struggle with hunger and poverty.
Now, a new $100,000 grant from Save the Children’s Innovation Lab will fund the development of a mailbox program with shelf-stable food for low-income rural families, starting next year.
Anahid Brakke, president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, said the program has been a huge success in other communities.
“The parents said, ‘It’s like Christmas.’ The kids feel like it’s Christmas, you know, they get this box of food; you know, it’s for them,” explained Brakke. “It really helps complement the whole family.”
A team from the San Diego Hunger Coalition is at Baylor University in Waco, Texas this week to learn best practices from other communities already implementing the program. Funds will also be used to train community health navigators who can help people enroll in programs like CalFresh and WIC.
Esther Liew, lead food security projects associate at the nonprofit Save the Children, said mailing the boxes of food made more sense than asking families to travel long distances to pick them up.
“There is little public transport in rural communities, which means they have limited access to grocery stores and places where they can get fresh, nutritious food,” Liew pointed out. “That makes it very difficult to provide the food they need for their children and family.”
Hunger Coalition data showed that about 35% of children in the Mountain Empire region live in poverty, which is nearly triple the rate in the rest of San Diego County.
In a recent community food survey of local residents, nearly three-quarters said they would run out of food at some point in the last 30 days and could not afford to buy more.
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A North Carolina Housing Authority in Robeson County has plans to launch a “pay what you can” mobile bus loaded with fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods that will serve families that lack transportation. The pilot program is one of the few nationwide to receive a $100,000 grant from the Save the Children Rural Hunger Research and Innovation Laboratory to combat rural hunger.
Colton Allen Oxendine, director of resident services for the City of Lumberton Housing Authority, said many residents have to walk miles to the nearest grocery store because they don’t have transportation.
“So this bus is going to reach well over 3,000 to 5,000 people,” he said. “The goal is to make this a success.”
He said residents will be able to use debit, credit, food stamps and whatever cash they have on hand on the mobile bus, and added that he expects the program to be up and running by August. According to UNC-Chapel Hill data, more than 30% of children living in Robeson County live in food insecure households.
Allen Oxendine said that many housing authority residents persist in processed and unhealthy foods.
“A lot of them go to smaller stores like gas stations, Family Dollar, Dollar General. We all know they don’t sell fresh fruits and vegetables,” she said.
Esther Liew, Lead Associate for Food Security Projects at Save the Children, said solutions to ending childhood hunger must come from within rural communities.
“What we hope is that they can develop ways of working that maybe look a little different from how these types of similar programs would work in urban settings, so we can help them develop specific solutions for rural contexts,” Liew said.
A recent survey by Save the Children and the Child Action Network found that 77% of rural parents report being concerned that they may not be able to buy enough food to feed their family.
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Mountaineer Food Bank is partnering with DoorDash to deliver groceries to the home of Mercer County’s most needy families. The pilot program is one of the few nationwide to receive a $100,000 grant from the Save the Children Rural Hunger Research and Innovation Laboratory to combat rural hunger.
One in six West Virginia children struggle with an empty stomach every day, according to Feeding America.
Gabriela Schoolcraft, Communications Coordinator for Mountaineer Food Bank, explained that most households in the state’s rural counties do not own a vehicle or are constrained by fuel costs. She added that the program, which begins this year, will initially serve 200 families.
“We will pick up food in Mercer County and DoorDash will meet us at a pickup location,” Schoolcraft said. “And we will deliver the food to families in need within the municipality”.
Schoolcraft said the food bank worked with the Mercer County Board of Education to determine which families would benefit most. She added that DoorDash drivers will be paid for their deliveries and considered a win-win situation to increase job security in the region while helping families.
Schoolcraft said the food boxes will be tailored to individuals’ home circumstances, noting that many families lack the resources to prepare meals from scratch.
“For example, some households only have microwaves,” she said. “So if that’s the case, we’ll only be providing microwave-centric food, but they’ll also be getting fresh produce, protein and dairy.”
Esther Liew, Lead Associate for Food Security Projects at Save the Children, said solutions to ending childhood hunger must come from within rural communities.
“What we’re hoping is that they can develop ways of working that maybe look a little different to how these types of similar programs would work in urban settings,” Liew said. “So we can help them develop solutions that are specifically for rural contexts.”
A recent survey by Save the Children and the Child Action Network found that 77% of rural parents say they are concerned that they may not be able to buy enough food to feed their family.
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A Republican-backed bill in the Iowa legislature seeks to impose strict new limits on what food people can buy at the grocery store using public assistance benefits.
House Bill 3 would limit people to items on the state’s WIC list, Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children.
The bill would restrict the purchase of items such as grains, baked, fried or chili beans and fresh and frozen meats. Even American cheese would be off limits.
Luke Elzinga, president of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said the extensive list of banned items includes many foods that people depend on every day.
“No flour, butter, cooking oil,” said Elzinga. “No herbs and spices, not even salt and pepper. No bottled water. No prepared frozen products. Even the items that are on the list are very strict on brands and specific types of things.”
Any changes to Iowa’s nutritional assistance programs would require approval from the US Department of Agriculture.
Nearly 40 Republicans support the bill, saying it is necessary to ensure the “integrity” of the program. Move next to the committee.
Elzinga said the proposal sends a message that the state doesn’t trust Iowa to buy the food her family needs and ignores the choices people make based on culture, specific nutritional needs or even to avoid food allergies.
He said it would also create a stigma for shoppers who are stopped at the cash register when certain items do not qualify.
“It must have an effect on the mental health of Iowans who are struggling right now to feed their families,” said Elzinga, “to hear that state leadership is going to try to tell them what they can and cannot buy for their families. families. to meet their food needs, when food prices are rising like they are”.
The bill also requires people receiving food benefits to be working, looking for work or undergoing job training.
It would also raise the barrier to applying for Medicaid in Iowa, which Elzinga said would also harm people’s physical health.
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