The Food Bank for Monterey County Receives 14,835 Pound Produce Donation 2018-01-01 (1)

Getting kids to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) MyPlate guidelines to fill Half the Plate with fruits and vegetables is tough enough for families who can afford to buy fresh produce. For families of the more than 16 million U.S. children USDA reports to be living in food-insecure households — of which more than 29,000 reside in California’s Monterey County — obstacles to meeting daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables are often far too high. At risk as a result are the growth, development and future of our nation’s youth. That’s why volunteers from The Food Bank for Monterey County, Salinas, Calif., made no complaints assembling and loading 14,835 pounds of produce, the average weight of a bus, donated by exhibitors on July 22 at the end of Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) Foodservice Conference & Exposition. “Despite living in the Salad Bowl of the World, the low-income clients served by The Food Bank for Monterey County often lack highly nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables in their diets,” says Leslie Sunny, the food bank’s executive director. Sunny adds that the 2010 Hunger Study conducted in Monterey County found an estimated 88,700 different people are served annually by The Food Bank for Monterey County — one-fifth of the county’s population. According to Feeding America, the national network of food banks that The Food Bank for Monterey County belongs to and the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the U.S., the number of children their network serves has increased by 50 percent since 2006. Feeding America’s recent report, Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2012, finds 27 percent of Monterey County’s children suffering from food insecurity. Although individuals at any age risk negative health consequences as a result of insufficient nutrition, the study points out, food insecurity can be particularly harmful among children because of increased vulnerability and the potential for long-term consequences. The report states, “The structural foundation for cognitive functioning is laid in early childhood, creating the underlying circuitry for which more complex processes are built. This foundation can be greatly affected by food insecurity. Inadequate nutrition can permanently alter a child’s brain architecture and stunt their intellectual capacity, affecting the child’s learning, social interaction, and productivity.” Following the release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the MyPlate icon, the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion (CNPP) announced a multilevel partnership program to promote these messages at national, regional and community levels throughout the country. Feeding America was chosen among 80 other organizations as CNPP National Strategic Partners. As part of the Feeding America network, The Food Bank of Monterey’s recent receipt of the this large donation of fresh fruits and vegetables not only presents an opportunity to spread the Half the Plate message, but also puts that healthy step into action for the children, their families and all the individuals the food bank serves. “We’ve been picking up from the PMA Foodservice Conference for 15 years, and look forward to it every year,” said Sunny. “When it is all said and done, we’ll have spent approximately five-six day, 10-15 hours per day and many dedicated volunteers to get all this fresh produce distributed. It’s worth every bit of effort because access to healthy fruits and vegetables is a necessity, not a privilege.”