Hunger & Health

Connecting Hunger and Health

Our food insecure neighbors often have to make tough choices to avoid hunger, and this can have an impact on their health. As a result, food insecure households are at higher risk for diet related disease, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity.

Feeding America’s Hunger in America 2014 study found that of the households that seek charitable food assistance:

• 58% of households have a member with high blood pressure


• 33% of households have a member with diabetes


• 79% of households cope with food insecurity by purchasing inexpensive, unhealthy food.

For more information about the connection between hunger and health, visit Feeding America’s Hunger and Health website.

Nourishing Our Neighbors

At Foodshare, we recognize the critical role we have in improving the health and well-being of the people we serve. We work hard to nourish our neighbors by prioritizing nutritious food and encouraging healthy choices.

• Foodshare works to distribute more healthy food - including produce, lean meats, low-fat dairy, and whole grains - to our network of more than 260 partner programs. One-third of all food distributed by Foodshare consists of fresh fruits and vegetables!


• Foodshare is using a new nutrition rating system called SWAP Supporting Wellness at Pantries that was developed by researchers at the University of Saint Joseph. SWAP ranks foods as green, yellow and red based on nutritional quality. We will use SWAP to increase our collection of healthy food, and SWAP will help our partner agencies and clients to make more informed decisions when selecting charitable food. Foodshare connects those we serve with tools that promote health, including free nutrition education and healthy recipes from community partners.


• Through strategic outreach and education Foodshare increases access to other important nutrition resources - including SNAP (formerly food stamps), school breakfast, summer meals for kids, and more.