LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leading health and wellness company Humana Inc. is helping to address food insecurity with a $625,000 grant to Feeding America, supporting mobile food pantries in nine states.
As part of Humana’s 23-year partnership with Feeding America, these mobile deliveries will help provide food and groceries to communities in need, including seniors, in Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin throughout 2023.
Mobile food pantries typically visit convenient locations throughout a community on a weekly or monthly basis and are usually stocked with meat, fruits and veggies, dairy, bread, and ingredients for easy meals. Some may also have personal care items like laundry detergent or soap.
“What we eat plays a significant role in both our physical and mental health, and we know economic constraints can take a toll on the ability to access and purchase healthy foods,” said George Renaudin, Medicare President for Humana.
“For seniors in particular, food insecurity can lead to increased risk of diabetes, congestive heart failure, and limitations on the ability to complete daily tasks. Particularly with inflation impacting the cost of groceries, we want to reduce the likelihood that seniors and other individuals in these communities will feel they need to eat less, skip meals, or have to choose between food and medication.”
As part of this partnership, Humana will provide support for mobile food pantries with the following Feeding America member food banks through the end of 2023:
- Freestore Foodbank (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Gleaners Community Food Bank (Detroit, Michigan)
- Harvesters – The Community Food Network (Kansas City, Missouri)
- Houston Food Bank (Houston, Texas)
- Mississippi Food Network (Jackson, Mississippi)
- Atlanta Community Food Bank (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Facing Hunger Foodbank (Huntington, West Virginia)
- Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
The mobile food pantries will usually visit areas where there aren’t grocery stores or other food pantries, so they can provide healthy foods to a much larger population in the surrounding area who may otherwise have difficulty with access to standard facilities.
They usually visit churches, community centers, schools, shopping centers and other convenient locations. Individuals or families can pick up pre-packed grocery boxes full of healthy foods or shop farmers’ market-style and choose what they want.
“One in 10 individuals, including one in eight children, in the United States are food insecure. Every community in the country is home to families who face hunger,” said Casey Marsh, Chief Development Officer for Feeding America. “Mobile food pantries provide access to healthy foods for neighbors living in underserved areas. We are grateful to Humana for supporting our efforts of expanding mobile food pantries to better serve communities, including seniors, experiencing food insecurity.”
To help address food insecurity, Humana has been partnering with Feeding America for more than 20 years and is its longest standing health care partner. Humana is engaged both nationally with Feeding America and locally in direct partnership with member food banks. Together Humana Inc. and the Humana Foundation have given $6.7 million in support of Feeding America’s national hunger-relief programs throughout the partnership.
In 2020, the Humana Foundation provided a total of $4.45 million to help the Feeding America network respond to the immediate and long-term needs of neighbors facing hunger impacted by COVID-19, improve food sourcing capacity at food banks and to support the Mobile Food Pantry Program, which increased access to food in rural communities experiencing higher rates of food insecurity.
In addition, the Humana Foundation provided support for the launch of an online grocery ordering system called OrderAhead that reduces physical and social barriers encountered by neighbors facing hunger.
Finding the nearest food bank
Individuals seeking support can search by zip code to find the nearest food bank. Food banks help to run mobile pantries across the country and sometimes have an online mobile pantry schedule. There is no need to need to apply for or register for access to the mobile food pantries – anyone who needs help with groceries can visit.
About Humana
Humana Inc. is committed to helping our millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs. Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large.
About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Contacts
Kelli LeGaspi
Humana Corporate Communications
502-519-5161
Klegaspi1@humana.com
