Eating well helps improve lives and build strong, healthy communities. So we’ve put nutrition at the core of our work.
Nutrition & Wellness
Good nutrition means everything
The science of nutrition is clear: good eating habits can have dramatically positive effects on health and wellbeing. But for many of the people we serve, the same barriers that make it hard to obtain enough food for themselves and their families also make it difficult to secure food that contributes to wellness. That’s a truth we’ve taken to heart, and the reason we’ve made health a priority.
We were one of the first food banks in the nation to put nutrition at the center of our operations. We adopted a food acceptance policy limiting high sugar donations from retailers, and we are one of the first to employ a wellness tracker to monitor the nutritional content of our inventory. Now, more than one-third of the food we source and provide is fruits and vegetables, and 85 percent is what we call “wellness food”: high in fiber and/or low in salt and sugar. Because our goal isn’t simply to provide food to our neighbors in need; it’s to help them thrive.
Good Nutrition Can:
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower the risk for diabetes and heart disease
- Help children achieve more academically
- Lead to longer life expectancy
Resources to help our neighbors live healthier lives
7 Ways Cards
Whether trying out a new ingredient or looking for a fresh way to use a kitchen staple, our 7 Ways Cards are designed to bring creative and nutritious options for ingredients that we regularly distribute. It can be seven new ways to look at a familiar item, or it can be seven ways to try something new!
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Use food as your medicine. I see food make all the difference, and I’m proud to be working together to help the community that needs it.
Help us continue to provide nutritious foods
Want to help get fresh produce and other healthy food items onto the plates of people who need them? You can! With a donation, you’ll help provide nutritious foods to people all across the greater Washington region. Every dollar you contribute helps provide 2 good, healthy meals.
Donate