Foodlink is proud to join Feeding America on the release of the Nutrition in Food Banking Toolkit, a resource which aims to support food banks and food pantry programs as they work to address food insecurity and the overlapping challenges posed by structural inequities.

Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, is making the toolkit available to the network of 200 member food banks and 60,000 partner food pantries and meal programs. It is also available for download at HungerandHealth.org.

“We know that food insecurity and nutrition insecurity are complex problems that do not exist in isolation,” said Ami McReynolds, chief equity and programs officer at Feeding America. “As we accelerate our efforts to engage with communities impacted by inequitable access to nutritious food, this toolkit will help the charitable food system better serve the millions of people facing hunger in this country by taking a more holistic and localized approach to meeting nutrition needs and honoring individual food cultures.”

The Nutrition in Food Banking Toolkit was developed by Feeding America’s Nutritious Food Revisioning Task Force, which included a dozen food banks (including Foodlink), and national organization staff, and with input and expertise from partnering organizations. Toolkit partners include Healthy Eating Research; the CDC’s Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research and Evaluation Network; UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity; University of California Nutrition Policy Institute; MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger; Partnership for a Healthier America; and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Nutrition Resource Manager Laura Held and Strategic Initiatives Manager Josh Wilcox participated in the task force for Foodlink.

“I was proud to represent Foodlink on the Nutritious Foods Revisioning Task Force, helping to bring Feeding America’s food bank nutrition guidelines to the next level,” Held said. “I was able to bring expertise from my experience spearheading the creation and oversight of Foodlink’s own nutrition ranking, The Healthy Choice.”

LEARN MORE: Foodlink’s Community Health Commitment and The Healthy Choice ranking system

The current version of the Nutrition in Food Banking Toolkit is composed of three main sections, each focused on a different aspect of the charitable food system: new nutrition guidelines, intercultural competency and nutrition policies.

To learn more about intersection of hunger and health and Feeding America’s work, visit HungerandHealth.org.