Feeding Florida | Florida's Food Bank Network

Hunger & Nutrition

Healthy Communities Need Healthy Foods

Feeding people facing hunger is about more than simply providing food. It’s about providing wellness, nourishment and strength. That’s why it’s our mission to provide the most nutritious food possible to improve people’s health and well-being. We know that for populations like children and seniors, a balanced diet can be particularly essential to succeeding in school, complementing medication and battling disease. Unfortunately, nutrition-related illnesses disproportionately affect those who lack access to healthy food.

Hunger and health are deeply connected.

Healthy bodies and minds require nutritious meals at every age. But when people don’t have enough food or have to choose inexpensive foods with low-nutritional value, it can seriously impact their health. And once the cycle of poor diet and poor health begins, it can be hard to break.

Every day, Feeding Florida commits to building stronger communities with nutritious food. 
Here's how:

Making more fresh produce available to hungry people
Sourcing and distributing food that is essential to a healthy diet helps us best meet the needs of the people we serve. To do that, we’re constantly innovating more ways to get perishable food to people who need it. Equipped with new solutions, 69 percent of the food the Feeding America network now distributes aligns with USDA nutritional guidelines.

Opening the door to healthy eating
We’re helping to promote healthy food choices in food pantries, empowering the people we serve to make the best nutritional choices for themselves and their families.

Researching how health and hunger intersect
We know that there’s a strong relationship between nutrition, health and food access. That's why we continue to conduct research on how these topics intersect — and how we can use that knowledge to better serve people facing hunger. 

Compromises and coping strategies

According to a study by the Feeding America network, 40 million people live in households with concerns about affording sufficient food. In our 2018 Hunger in America study, the people we serve told us about the many ways they stretch their food budget or work to supplement it.

  • More than 2.2 million Floridians struggle to afford nutritious food.
  • 79% of food bank recipients also purchased inexpensive, unhealthy food to make ends meet.
  • 51% of food bank assisted households eat food past the expiration date.

You can also learn more about how we’re fighting hunger with health on our Hunger and Health website — where there’s tons of recipes, research and resources for creating a healthier America.

Visit Hunger + Health Website