Healthy eating for all

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Editor's note: This editorial discusses a topic related to poverty, one of The Gazette Editorial Board's local priority issues for 2013.

Demand on Eastern Iowa food banks soared through the recession years and hasn't let up during a period of spotty economic recovery. And now these non-profit agencies are tackling another challenge on their collective plate: providing more healthy food choices while educating and encouraging patrons about the benefits of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

It's a response to Iowa and the nation's big battle against obesity and diet-related diseases, in particular, among those people who can't afford to adequately feed themselves or their families. A page 1A report in today's Gazette cites new research published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. It reports that many food banks are changing their nutrition-related policies and practices.

DEMAND PICTURE

The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Food Reservoir, the Crisis Center of Johnson County program and other area food agencies are embracing the changes.

This effort comes at a time when demands on Iowa's food banks are higher than ever. HACAP assisted 4.6 percent more households with 13.3 percent more meals in 2012 compared to 2009. By late last year, the HACAP Reservoir's 103 pantries in the seven counties of Linn, Johnson, Jones, Benton, Cedar, Benton and Washington were seeing a 20 to 30 percent increase in clients served over the previous year. Many are people who earn too much to qualify for federal food stamps but not enough to make ends meet.

The Crisis Center of Johnson County has seen increases in service demand of 10 percent last year and 19 percent the previous year.

EMBRACING CHANGE

Meanwhile, donations of money and general food items aren't keeping up at many food banks. And our state government, with a healthy budget surplus, hasn't provided much help.

Nonetheless, HACAP and other organizations are making efforts to expand healthier food offerings. Last summer, for example, HACAP partnered with the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market at one event. Vendors donated hundreds of pounds of fresh food that didn't sell and were immediately delivered to food pantries for distribution. The partnership will continue this summer.

Table to Table, the Iowa City food rescue agency, received more than 10,000 pounds of fresh items from vendors during last year's growing season.

Even so, many clients are leery of trying new items or aren't familiar with how to prepare them for meals. HACAP has responded by ramping up the information it provides to agencies it serves, including recipes and guidelines on handling fresh produce.

An important slice of that education aims at children. HACAP's backpack program provides nutritious, kid-friendly food and diet information to students at risk of not getting enough to eat on weekends when they're not in school. This program has grown to more than 900 backpacks going to at least 30 schools in HACAP's service area.

The Crisis Center of Johnson County is trying to add volunteers who understand nutrition and produce and can answer client questions.

These agencies are reporting some promising results, but the education process must be an ongoing practice to produce long-term results.

STATE'S ROLE

Meanwhile, making sure Iowa food banks and pantries have adequate stocks, including the typical non-perishable items, remains critical. While much of our state's economy has improved since the recession, the number of households struggling to make ends meet remains high.

It seems only reasonable that the state government do more to help the private sector cope during such a critical period. Last year, Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed the Legislature's emergency appropriation for Iowa's food banks. While that was disappointing, a new proposal still alive in this legislative session could help stabilize food bank supplies over the long term with modest impact, at most, on the state budget.

Senate File 367 would provide a tax credit to farmers or other vendors for donations of commodities. It also would help the Department of Human Services support food bank associations' distribution programs.

Not only would it help our neighbors in need, it also would support producers - especially smaller local farmers who are growing the fruits and vegetables that can improve the diet and health of all Iowans.

We think legislators and the governor should endorse this idea.

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