Would You Feed Your Family the Food You Dropped in the Donation Bin?

Fighting hunger should be about more than supplying calories to those who can't afford a trip to the grocery store. 

The focus should be on providing healthy, fresh and nutrient-rich food — the same as we strive to provide for our own families.

That's the mission of a year-long campaign launched recently by the Partners for Health Foundation.

The "Fight Hunger the Healthy Way" campaign hopes to raise awareness about the growing problem of hunger in suburban communities, and to inspire action to donate healthy foods to emergency food programs.

The keynote speaker at a launch event held at the Montclair Art Museum last month was Chris Bickel, a teacher, author and advocate for healthy food access and Sustainable Jersey. 

Bickel, who has celiac disease and is unable to eat wheat, spoke about his own experience with hunger growing up in a family of 10 children, noting that as a teen he depended on government and emergency food services such as the Salvation Army.  

Bickel urged the audience to continue to challenge what he called the “mental model” that canned donations are the primary way to help those who are food insecure.

“Like the rest of us, these individuals also have food allergies and important nutritional needs,” he said. “Fresh, healthy food is nature’s medicine.”

Pam Scott, executive director of the Partners for Health Foundation, opened the program.

“This effort is about increasing access to healthy and nutritious foods,” Scott said, adding the campaign is a vital part of the community-based Eat. Play. Live…Better movement that strives to make healthy choices easier.

Anne Mernin, director of outreach for Toni’s Kitchen at St. Luke’s Church in Montclair, also spoke.

“Healthy food access for all is truly a community effort,” Mernin said.

One hundred toolkits filled with everything needed to conduct a successful healthy food drive were distributed at the event. The kits included facts about hunger, suggestions for healthy foods that can be donated to emergency food programs, banners, aprons, posters and more.

For access to the information in the toolkit, or for more information, visit www.partnersfdn.org.