Nearly 9% of North Dakota households do not have enough to eat right now, and the push to expand free meals for students at school appears to have ended as the pandemic wanes.

Moving forward, a hunger relief group said it is clear the need is not going away.

The household numbers were reported in the most recent U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey. Plans to extend universal free schools lunches beyond June were scrapped in congressional budget talks.

Jared Slinde, communications manager for Great Plains Food Bank, said when you factor in higher food costs, organizations like his have to stay on their toes.

"We always want to be prepared to provide to be able to provide the service to as high a level as we can," Slinde explained. "Because there's going to be people that are going to need it for quite some time."

He noted with fewer bulk donations from the food industry, they anticipate having to make more
purchases to help maintain supplies at local food shelves. The group reported serving more than 121,000 North Dakotans in 2021, the second-highest total in its history. While down from the previous year, officials say it is still much higher than pre-COVID cycles.

Higher grocery costs carried over into 2022 following supply-chain issues, and June 30 is the scheduled end date for universal free school meals the federal government provided during the pandemic.

Supporters say extending it would mean more certainty for households and districts still leaning on the extra support. But some Republicans say with COVID cases waning, free meals should be offered only to those who qualify. With all the outside forces affecting families, Slinde emphasized it is vital for people who want to help to consider making monetary donations.

"The way we're structured, we're able to provide three meals for each dollar donated, which we're able
to stretch that quite a ways," Slinde stressed.

Great Plains works with nearly 200 food pantries, soup kitchens and other free meal programs.

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health facilities at the community level are chipping in, too. Community Health Centers are federally qualified clinics that provide primary care to all patients, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

Shannon Bacon, director of equity and external affairs with Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, said since 2021, locations in this region have elevated patient screening to get a better understanding of their needs, including whether they have enough healthy food to eat.

"One example, they could ask, you know, in the past 12 months, were they ever worried about whether their food would run out before they had money to buy more?" she said.

She added that type of dialogue with a trusted health provider can help reduce any stigma about hunger and suggested this broader approach to meeting patient needs can help lead to better outcomes for these patients. Through a partnership with the Great Plains Food Bank, some Community Health Centers in North Dakota have onsite pantries, where patients who screen positive for food insecurity are sent home with fruits, vegetables and other healthy items.

Bacon said during these screenings, people also can be referred to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits, and added that there's an awareness gap in which some patients who meet the criteria don't know where to turn in their community.

"One health center found that a large majority of the patients who said, 'Yes, I am interested in getting connected with food and nutrition resources today,' also said they hadn't visited a pantry in the last year," she continued.

She said asking these questions during a wellness visit can help communities better support individuals who are falling through the cracks in the local safety net.


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California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a panel discussion today on options for getting healthy food to the unhoused population.

The event will feature firsthand accounts from people experiencing homelessness, plus experts from local agencies and nonprofits.

Alba Velasquez, executive director of the council, said the discussion is aimed at finding solutions.

"We want to center our conversation around what sorts of policies need to be in place in order to make systemic change that would allow more, healthier food options to be easily accessible to some of our most vulnerable communities," Velasquez explained.

She noted the panel will hear from community members with lived experience and will explore a more dignified approach to providing food, favoring healthier, more thoughtful choices, instead of defaulting to cheap, convenient options like instant noodles or pasta.

Velasquez suggested policymakers look for ways to increase acceptance of electronic benefits transfer at local restaurants for hot meals.

"How do we make hot meals easier to access for folks that don't have refrigeration units to store, or don't even have a secure place to stay, because they're constantly moving?" Velasquez asked.

The panel, which is open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. today at the Huffington Center in Koreatown. Speakers include the host of a podcast called "We the unhoused," as well as representatives from the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the Los Angeles City Controller's office, the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority and the Skid Row People's Market.


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In observance of Hunger Action Month, a new statewide collaborative has launched to address food insecurity in South Dakota.

Nearly 14% of U.S. households struggled getting food last year, according to new U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

That includes over 100,000 South Dakotans, said Timothy Meagher, who's on the steering committee for the South Dakota Healthy Nutrition Collaborative.

Its members are looking to tackle food insecurity by integrating a network of resources - from healthcare groups and universities, to community foundations and food producers.

Meagher said the group aims to "align resources to actions."

"Because we believe we can improve nutrition," said Meagher, "decrease the disease, and provide every South Dakota citizen with an opportunity to be the best version of themselves."

Along with the new national data, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement that the high rate of food insecurity is "a direct outcome of congressional actions" - including blocking the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, and restricting access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Meagher said the collaborative's one-year goals include assessing the landscape of organizations that deal with hunger and improving coordination among them, elevating voices of advocates, researchers and people experiencing food insecurity, and advancing policy to address the issue.

"Basically, we're putting on a whiteboard," said Meagher, "'Here's what we know collectively. What do we need to know, and how do we take action on it?'"

Nutritious diets can help prevent cancer and heart disease, which are the two leading causes of death in the state, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.


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