It is a constant struggle for food insecure families to purchase enough food for a healthy and adequate diet. The average household receiving food stamp benefits can afford just $3 worth of groceries for each person on any given day. In order to stretch food dollars and keep stomachs from going empty, families often resort to purchasing inexpensive products with little nutritional value. The result is a diet high in calories, saturated fat, and added sugar, and low in fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. This puts food insecure individuals at risk for becoming overweight and developing a wide range of related health issues.
The Food Bank of Delaware seeks to address this problem by providing nutritional guidance to clients through SNAP-Ed, a federally funded program which targets food stamp recipients or food stamp eligible individuals. The main objective of SNAP-Ed is to educate and empower participants to make healthy choices within a very limited budget. Some of the important lessons that are covered include meal planning, budget planning/shopping, food safety, and cooking skills. All educational materials and topics have been developed using the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the USDA’s MyPlate.
SNAP education sessions can be scheduled with any of our hunger-relief program partners and can be modified to meet the needs of each group. Choose an age group for a brief description of each lesson offered:
To schedule a nutritional session, contact:
New Castle County
Beverly Jackey, RD
Community Nutritionist
(302) 444-8125
bjackey@fbd.org.
Kyle Takayama
Community Nutrition Educator
(302) 292-1305 ext 249
ktakayama@fbd.org
Jackie Hennemuth, RD, LDN
Community Nutritionist, Milford Branch
(302) 393-2013
jhennemuth@fbd.org
For more information on the SNAP program click here.
For more nutrition information click here.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).