National Nutrition Month® is a month-long nutrition education and information campaign established by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
Be a Part of the Conversation!
Follow the Food Bank on Facebook and Instagram for weekly posts every Wednesday throughout the month on #WellnessWednesday.
There, we will be providing helpful tips and recipes, and will also be sharing information on what the Food Bank does to educate those who receive food assistance from our programs on the importance of eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods.
You can also visit the Academy of Nutrition Dietetics at EatRight.org for an array of resources for National Nutrition Month®
About the Food Bank’s Nutrition and Wellness Programs
San Diegans facing hunger not only lack food, they also lack access to healthy food, the kind that promotes health and well-being and protects against obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other nutrition-related illnesses.
Proper nutrition with a diet rich in quality protein, fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains is essential for a child’s physical and cognitive development. But families living in poverty cannot afford to buy fresh produce, meats and whole grains, and instead rely on cheap, carbohydrate-rich, nutritionally deficient foods that contribute to obesity.
The Food Bank is combating the alarming rise in nutrition-related illnesses by increasing the amount of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein-rich foods that we provide to our client population. Last year, more than a third of the food that the Food Bank distributed was fresh produce, totaling more than 16 million pounds. By providing high quality, nutritious food the Food Bank is becoming a “nutrition bank,” and is instrumental in fighting nutrition-related diseases, especially among the children the Food Bank serves.
The Food Bank provides food assistance to low-income families throughout San Diego County. We currently feed 550,000 people every month in communities throughout San Diego County. The majority of the families we serve have an adult in employment, but these working-poor families simply cannot make enough to put healthy, nutritious food on the table for their children. To assist these families in need, the Food Bank provides food assistance at more than 200 distribution sites throughout San Diego County every month.
In addition to increasing the nutritional value of the food we distribute, providing nutrition education to our client population is central to the Food Bank’s mission. Our team of nutrition interns and volunteers, led by our full-time Nutrition & Wellness Educator, Maria Tavera, visit our food distribution sites to educate folks on how to properly store, prep, and cook the food they receive. They also teach nutrition education classes to seniors throughout the county.
In addition, our full-time nutritionist and her team of nutrition volunteers lead “nutrition on a budget shopping tours” at local supermarkets with low-income parents and fixed-income seniors. This is an interactive, virtual guided grocery store tour that teaches adults how to make real changes to their food shopping habits.
By helping parents learn how to make healthy food choices on a limited budget, the Food Bank is fulfilling our mission to combat the rise of nutrition-related disease among those we serve, especially children, so they can learn, grow and thrive.