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Nutrition

Nutrition's role in food banking is changing. It is no longer sufficient to merely provide calories to alleviate hunger. The Greater Boston Food Bank is committed to providing nutrient rich foods to maintain adequate growth and health outcomes as well as fighting hunger.

Nutrition is important to everyone but eating well is especially a challenge for our region's poor.

It can be more expensive to eat nutritiously. A survey of Seattle-area supermarkets found that $.20 spent on cookies would provide the same amount of food energy (calories) as $.95 spent on carrots. However, carrots contain greater amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber than cookies. Additional research shows vitamins A and C, calcium, fruit, and dairy products are limited in food pantries.

Low-income people often don't have the money and other resources to eat well. The Agriculture Department found that while only 10% of Americans have optimally nutritious diets, those from low-income households and having less education were most likely to have worse eating patterns. These eating patterns can contribute to overweight and obesity in children and adults. As illustrated, a person consuming a regular diet of calorie rich and nutrient poor foods may become obese and malnourished at the same time.

The obesity epidemic is obvious, yet obesity as a risk factor for chronic disease is not new. According to the Surgeon General, obesity is associated with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers, asthma, and many other conditions. The prevalence of obesity increased dramatically in the past 30 years but the American Heart Association first identified obesity as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in 1952.

To improve the health and welfare of the people we serve we must partner with our member agencies to provide healthy food choices to those seeking food assistance. We aim to measure the nutrient quality of our inventory products, provide nutrition education, and communicate the importance of good nutrition to our donors and member agencies. By doing so, we decrease barriers to healthy food choices and improve our community's health.