Today a roundtable was held at the Sparks Community Center by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada to talk about access to food and nutrition for those who face food insecurity every day in Northern Nevada.
The USDA has invested $1.7 billion to help fund emergency feeding systems, like food banks, schools and child care.
Cindy Long, the Deputy Undersecretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer Service at the USDA explains the investment: "A lot of that money is going to go towards food that is locally and regionally produced... so it will bring in food from Nevada producers, and Nevada food banks, schools and childcare settings - not only helping those who receive the food, but helping build local economies and strengthen the supply chain for all of us."
She adds, "We know how important it is to have strong supply chains. We saw after COVID when they weren’t that strong, so we’re trying to bring in those small- and medium-sized producers to help them economically and to give us all more choices for healthy fresh foods."
$1.2 billion of the $1.7 billion is dedicated to bringing in the locally-produced food; which can vary from fresh produce to dairy products and proteins designed to help people who may have a harder time accessing those resources.
The state will work with these local producers to obtain their food and distribute it to students and their families through schools and child care.
Adam Searcy, the Chief Operating Officer for the Washoe County School District says, "A big part of our work with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada is really just making sure that all of our different programs and partnerships are interconnected to our families. So wherever families feel most comfortable and connected - often times inside of our schools - how we can connect them with resources.”
68 Washoe County schools are serving free meals through the federal government program administrated by the State Department of Agriculture.
This school year, for the first time in four years, 35 of their schools are back on an income-based program were families can qualify for universal free meals. If they don't qualify, they are asked to pay for each of their meals.
This is due to a change in funding on the federal and state level.
But the need in our community has increased.
Searcy explains, "It’s been a challenge. We’ve worked hard to make sure every student and every family has access and is enrolled in every program that they are eligible for; and then making it as simple as possible for students and families to make sure they are paying for those school meals."
However, he adds they still do not turn any child away regardless.
Searcy also mentions each year they see a 15% decrease in students and their families using their resources and it concerns them since the need has increased.
They're trying to make school meals more accessible by working with the USDA.
Long goes on to say, "People need to understand how many of their neighbors are in fact experiencing challenges being nutritionally secure, struggling to make ends meet - especially those right above the eligibility for some of the programs. So awareness of the challenge and also telling the good story about the incredible resources that are out there to support them."
She agrees, some of the challenges are having these programs but noticing not everyone is participating; so they're trying to get the word out more and encourage people to use their resources.
She says, "USDA is supporting nutrition security, supporting local economies and supporting strong supply chains - including our recent $1.7 billion investment in all of those things."
