USI Insurance Services’ Post

What Is Food Insecurity? 🤔 Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. People facing food insecurity often have to make difficult choices with limited resources, like buying medicine, paying a utility bill, or buying food. These economic stresses can contribute to emotional stress and further complicate family stability. HOPE worldwide HQ staff ended 2023 volunteering with Atlanta Community Food Bank, the central hub in the fight against hunger in Atlanta and North Georgia. ACFB works with more than 700 nonprofit partners to distribute over 8 million meals across metro Atlanta and North Georgia each month, relying on volunteers every day for various essential tasks. What are some ways you engage with your local community? #hopeww #acfb

~19.2% of households with children are experiencing food insecurity due to the rising costs of groceries and other basic needs, according to a US Census Pulse Survey. Lack of access to nutritious foods has a severe negative impact on health and educational outcomes. If you or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity, here are a few organizations that support Boston youth and families by providing direct access to healthy foods, help navigating government assistance forms, or advocating for food equity at the state or federal level. 🏠Haley House- Operates a soup kitchen and food pantry run by individuals in their live-in community. 🍞Project Bread- Provides families with money for groceries, healthy meals for kids in their schools and all summer long, an expert helping you navigate your options to finally make ends meet and while advocating for policies that make food more accessible. 🚚Fresh Truck- Hosts a pop up market filled with affordable nutritious foods to local community centers. 🍏Fresh Connect- Disburses prepaid cards with monthly stipends for groceries eligible for use at grocery stores, farmers markets and mobile markets. 🍲Food For Free Committee- Supplies groceries and grab-n-go meals to local meal programs as well as delivery groceries to eligible Cambridge residents. Interested in the organizations highlighted above? Check out the LINK IN COMMENTS to learn more about how you can advance their work. Want to be part of a community making Boston a healthier place for all? Apply to our Health Equity or Housing Justice Fellowship via LINK IN COMMENTS #foodinsecurity #boston #nonprofit

📣 We Need Your Input! 📣 Our founder and CEO, Joi Chevalier recently presented to the Travis County Public Health Commission, sharing the impactful success and future needs of our Supplemental Emergency Food Access Network (SEFAN). Since the pandemic began, SEFAN has delivered tangible results in Travis County through our Cultura Cuisine for Population Health solution, providing prepared meals that address specific community health and food access needs. The majority of the participants have difficulty accessing healthy food due to income, disability, or health issues. The participants of this program are Travis County residents with household incomes at or below 200% FPL. Participants reported feeling that they improved access to healthy and nutritious food due to the program. “The SEFAN program has been an essential and extremely successful tool for Travis County. Not only does it meet people’s immediate need for prepared food, but it connects them with staff who help them with other essential needs like housing or transportation or health care. This program provides them with delicious, healthy food and the tools to transform their lives.” – BRIGID SHEA, TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER. SEFAN’s impact has been tremendous. In the last 18 months, we delivered 309,870 meals to 8,253 people in need, partnering with 30 community-based organizations across 51 distribution sites. Joi’s presentation underscored our need for continued funding to sustain and expand this essential work and deepen our impact within the community. We are also calling for community feedback on the program and its success. Your input is invaluable as it is being accepted now by the Commissioners and with the City Council. You can submit feedback to the Travis Country Commissioner’s Office by emailing Travis County Judge, Andy Brown (Andy.Brown@traviscountrytx.gov), Precinct One Commissioner, Jeffrey Travillion (Jeffrey.Tavillion@traviscountytx.gov) or Precinct Two Commissioner, Brigid Shea (Brigid.Shea@traviscountytx.gov). Learn more here https://hubs.la/Q02G_Q2b0 Join us in our mission to create lasting, meaningful change and end food insecurity in Travis County. #TheCooksNook #SEFAN #FoodAccess #CommunityHealth #Austin #Nonprofit #DeepenTheImpact

Knowing your customer is key to the success of any business but also of any non profit. In a time when food security is a hot topic I think it's incredibly important to know who ( and who is not) our customers are so we can serve them well! We are a non profit grocery store designed to meet the needs of families / single moms who are struggling with a short term financial challenge. Till now these folks have been falling through the cracks because they can't afford a retail grocery store and they do not want the hand out via an emergency food service. Don't get me wrong, emergency food handouts are very needed in our communities, however not everyone wants to go that route nor should that be the only option! When a crisis hits many parents desperately want to feed their own children, they just need to be able to afford it. Just because you lose your job or experience another crisis does not mean you are ready to throw in the towel and resort to accepting a hand out. Those are our people!! They find more than affordable food at one of our Markits. Our customers experience dignity, choice and convenience. We can meet their needs well because we know our customers well! Not sure about you but I think that is how we build a strong community. Helping those who just need a hand up so they don't fall any further. www.gatheringmarkit.com #knowyourcustomer #abbotsfordbc #dignity #foodsecurity #nonprofitleadership

Empower Missouri’s Food Security Coalition (FSC) is dedicated to making sure that all Missourians have access to healthy meals. The charitable food sector, including institutions like food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens play a critical role in keeping people fed, but they can only provide about ten percent of the total food benefits needed for the over 924,000 Missourians facing hunger. The rest comes from social safety net programs like SNAP (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which is why our FSC focuses so strongly on protecting these programs – and ensuring that they are accessible to everyone who is eligible. As recently as 2023, understaffing at the Missouri Department of Social Services call centers and lack of disability accommodations too often resulted in applicants being unable to schedule interviews, ultimately leading to the denial of SNAP benefits for numerous individuals and families that are otherwise eligible. It is essential that eligible families are able to access the benefits they need to meet their nutritional requirements. And so, when legislative advocacy with the Missouri State Legislature and administrative advocacy with the Department of Social Services did not work to address these issues, judicial advocacy was the next step. In February 2022, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) and Stinson LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Empower Missouri and two low-income Missourians. You can read more in our newest Weekly Perspective blog post here: https://lnkd.in/gWiPrhpW Image description: blue text reading "New Weekly Perspective on the Blog! One Step Closer to Ensuring Adequate Nutrition for All Missourians" with a photo of a child grocery shopping with a parent #EmpowerMO #WeeklyPerspective #Blog #Missouri #FoodSecurity #EmpowerMOFSC

September is #HungerActionMonth — how is #TeamCVS working to support access to nutritious food in the communities we serve? 👇 🍎 Food insecurity is a widespread problem and continues to rise post-pandemic, according to the latest studies from nonprofit, Feeding America, but a unique approach is needed to meet the needs of different communities. 🥕 That's why CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation have granted nearly $1.5 million to nine community organizations across the country working to combat hunger, providing food insecurity solutions unique to respective communities. 🥪 Through this tailored approach, we're helping more people in our communities have access to nutritious food — so they can better focus on their overall health and well-being. https://lnkd.in/gswVXmXh

September is #HungerActionMonth — how is #TeamCVS working to support access to nutritious food in the communities we serve? 👇 🍎 Food insecurity is a widespread problem and continues to rise post-pandemic, according to the latest studies from nonprofit, Feeding America, but a unique approach is needed to meet the needs of different communities. 🥕 That's why CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation have granted nearly $1.5 million to nine community organizations across the country working to combat hunger, providing food insecurity solutions unique to respective communities. 🥪 Through this tailored approach, we're helping more people in our communities have access to nutritious food — so they can better focus on their overall health and well-being. https://lnkd.in/gcsufVqn

"The Black Panther Party made food central to their political action because food, and hunger, have always been political issues." At this time of year there are many calls for food donations - these can be useful but we must remember that food banks are a sticking plaster and not a solution. Read our piece on how food is political & the power of community meals.

September is #HungerActionMonth — how is #TeamCVS working to support access to nutritious food in the communities we serve? 👇 🍎 Food insecurity is a widespread problem and continues to rise post-pandemic, according to the latest studies from nonprofit, Feeding America, but a unique approach is needed to meet the needs of different communities. 🥕 That's why CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation have granted nearly $1.5 million to nine community organizations across the country working to combat hunger, providing food insecurity solutions unique to respective communities. 🥪 Through this tailored approach, we're helping more people in our communities have access to nutritious food — so they can better focus on their overall health and well-being. https://lnkd.in/ebGRrKeq

September is #HungerActionMonth — how is #TeamCVS working to support access to nutritious food in the communities we serve? 👇 🍎 Food insecurity is a widespread problem and continues to rise post-pandemic, according to the latest studies from nonprofit, Feeding America, but a unique approach is needed to meet the needs of different communities. 🥕 That's why CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation have granted nearly $1.5 million to nine community organizations across the country working to combat hunger, providing food insecurity solutions unique to respective communities. 🥪 Through this tailored approach, we're helping more people in our communities have access to nutritious food — so they can better focus on their overall health and well-being. https://lnkd.in/euAvPk7Y