Food insecurity impacts an estimated 1 in 9 Idahoans, including 1 in 8 children, according to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study. Penny Beach, MD, Chief Medical Officer at FMRI, notes, “Access to healthy food, especially for children and people with chronic diseases like diabetes, creates healthy communities. This screening program allowed us to identify and then refer people to community resources to access healthy food options.”
This past year the need for nutritious food was unprecedented as our community was struck with COVID-19. The Idaho Foodbank, in their coordination with the Farmers to Families food box program, was a lifeline to the countless people who lost their jobs and those who were struggling to make ends meet for the first time. The Idaho Foodbank’s leadership in securing food boxes allowed FMRI to support hundreds of people each week at our clinics in Boise, Nampa and Meridian.