Bloomfield, CT
–
Foodshare announced today that they are improving the health and nutrition of their food and encouraging families to make healthy choices through a three-year commitment with the Partnership for a Healthier America.
“Thousands of people in Greater Hartford depend on Foodshare to feed their families in times of need,” said Nancy Roman, President and CEO of the Partnership for a Healthier America. “America’s food banks not only fight hunger – they have the opportunity to fight hunger’s companion health problems, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes. In the 21st century, we simply cannot compound poverty with food inequity. We’re proud to partner with this vital organization to ensure food bank recipients get the nutrition they need to promote good health.”
As part of a commitment announced at Partnership for a Healthier America’s Innovating a Healthier Future Summit today, Foodshare agreed to:
- Use a nutrition stoplight system to rank the nutritional quality of food in their inventory
- Increase the amount of nutritious food and beverage distributed through their network
- Increase the demand for healthy food and multiply its impact with promotional materials
“This is an exciting opportunity for all of us at Foodshare. To be members of such an elite national group shows how important we see our role in providing nutritious choices to our clients. More produce and healthier options – that’s the future of food banking,” said Jason Jakubowski, President and CEO, Foodshare.
As a pioneer in the national movement to provide access to nutritious food, Foodshare will be a part of PHA’s initiative to combat food insecurity and obesity alongside prior year partners, Feeding America, the Capital Area Food Bank, the San Antonio Food Bank, Atlanta Food Bank, and the Des Moines Area Religious Council.
Foodshare is leading an informed, coordinated response to hunger in our community. Foodshare is the Feeding America food bank serving Connecticut’s Hartford and Tolland counties, where 121,000 people struggle with hunger. In partnership with the food industry, donors, community leaders and volunteers, Foodshare works to maximize access to nutritious food and other resources that support food security. Last year, Foodshare distributed nearly 12 million meals worth of food to a network of 300 local food pantries, meal programs, and Mobile Foodshare sites. And, because hunger is bigger than food, Foodshare collaborates with anti-hunger organizations, policy makers, and the broader community to build effective solutions to end hunger.
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation’s most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased, third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.
About Foodshare
Foodshare is leading an informed, coordinated response to hunger in our community. Foodshare is the Feeding America food bank serving Connecticut’s Hartford and Tolland counties, where 127,000 people struggle with hunger. In partnership with the food industry, donors, community leaders and volunteers, Foodshare works to maximize access to nutritious food and other resources that support food security. Last year, Foodshare distributed nearly 12 million meals worth of food to a network of 300 local food pantries, meal programs, and Mobile Foodshare sites. And, because hunger is bigger than food, Foodshare collaborates with antihunger organizations, policy makers, and the broader community to build effective solutions to end hunger.
Foodshare is changing what it means to be a food bank. For more information, visit www.foodshare.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
