National partnership will radically improve the quality of food distributed by the Great Plains Food Bank to food-insecure families across North Dakota and Clay County, Minn.
Fargo, N.D. – The Great Plains Food Bank has joined the Partnership for a Healthier America’s (PHA) Healthy Hunger Relief initiative to further uplift the health and well-being of communities across North Dakota and Clay County, Minn. The Great Plains Food Bank will work with PHA, the national nonprofit organization fighting for food equity formed in conjunction with former First Lady Michelle Obama, to address hunger, malnutrition and chronic disease by increasing the supply of healthier options and decreasing the supply of unhealthy options.
“PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief partners serve as the foundation of our mission to transform the food landscape in pursuit of food equity,” said Nancy E. Roman, President & CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. “Through our work together, we’re ensuring that communities and families all across the country have access to healthier, high-quality, culturally relevant and nutritious foods.”
The Great Plains Food Bank, along with 29 other new Healthy Hunger Relief partners, will receive support from PHA to implement a comprehensive nutrition ranking system, developed by experts at Healthy Eating Research, over the next two years. In addition, PHA will provide technical assistance to help partners understand the nutritional quality of their inventory and make strategic decisions within and across food categories to improve nutritional quality, enhancing food equity for the communities they serve.
The Great Plains Food Bank has received $70,000 in grant funding from PHA to establish the foundation needed to implement a nutrition ranking system and to support the distribution of nutritionally dense fresh produce.
“The Great Plains Food Bank is committed to providing healthful, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for our neighbors,” Great Plains Food Bank CEO Melissa Sobolik said. “We believe it is our responsibility to provide food that improves peoples’ health as we pursue our mission to end hunger. Together, with the support of Partnership for a Healthier America, we’re excited to take the next step in advancing nutrition and building opportunity for everyone to live a healthy, active life.”
PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief initiative currently works with 28 partners, reaches more than 7 million Americans, and has introduced 115 million pounds of healthy food into the emergency food system, while removing 19 million pounds of low nutrition food. By welcoming 30 new partners to the program like the Great Plains Food Bank, PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief work will double in reach and span across 18 states, impacting more than 14 million Americans with good food. PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief work is now in 30% of all food banks across the country.
PHA made a commitment last month to provide 50 million servings of vegetables, fruits and legumes to food-insecure families by 2025. PHA’s work with its Healthy Hunger Relief partners is part of this broader effort to meaningfully shift the food supply available in disadvantaged communities as the organization works to improve food equity across the country.
ABOUT PARTNERSHIP FOR A HEALTHIER AMERICA
Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is the premier national nonprofit organization working to transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. At PHA, we believe that there is no true equity in society without health equity and that there is no health equity without food equity. Over the course of a decade, PHA has partnered with more than 300 corporations, nonprofits, and organizations around the country with the vision that all families in every zip code have access to affordable good food. Visit PHA at ahealthieramerica.org
ABOUT THE GREAT PLAINS FOOD BANK
As the only food bank in North Dakota, Great Plains Food Bank has been working to end hunger since 1983. The Great Plains Food Bank is committed to a hunger-free future for our neighbors in North Dakota and Clay County, Minn. Our mission is built upon strong partnerships that increase clients’ access to food while decreasing the barriers they encounter. With service, passion and innovation as our guiding values, we believe that, together, we can end hunger. Find more on the Great Plains Food Bank HERE.