NUDGE PANTRY
The Healthy Pantry Nudges Project through the North Texas Food Bank aims to promote health and healthy eating habits by improving policies, systems, and environmental changes at food pantries. By increasing the availability of healthy food here at Manna House, this project increases the likelihood that our neighbors establish healthy eating habits. The healthy choice is made the easy choice!
With 80 percent of North Texas neighbors already choosing to purchase inexpensive and often unhealthy food just to have something to eat, the financial impacts of COVID-19 on access to nutritious foods is deeply felt. This has made the Nutrition Services program at the North Texas Food Bank more vital than ever.
THE PROGRAM’S GOAL IS TO HAVE NUTRITIOUS ITEMS
MAKE UP MORE THAN 97 PERCENT OF THE FOOD DISTRIBUTED BY NTFB BY 2025.
As the premier distribution center in Ellis County for NTFB, we aim to extend the Nutrition Services that carry out this mission through its various education, outreach and food gathering initiatives.
Since much of the program is focused on in-person outreach in the community, it has needed to significantly pivot in how it delivers its services during the pandemic, including a revamped and robust online and virtual presence. A sample of the nutrition services current and upcoming resources include:
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Cooking demonstration videos and recipes that align with the kitted family boxes and Senior Program boxes that are currently being distributed.
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A pilot program to launch the normally in-person series-based curriculum courses virtually. The program currently has targeted curriculum for kids, adults, parents and seniors.
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Modifying the Healthy Pantry initiative, which provides nudges (subtle environment changes in a food distribution setting, designed to make a healthy choice the easy choice), in a non-walk through manner as partner agencies have changed their model of distribution to a drive-thru/pick up model.
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Partnering with other organizations to host Facebook Live cooking demonstrations.
