The TRISCUIT brand and Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) have announced the expansion of PHA's Good Food for All Program to bring 600,000 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits to food-insecure families in Washington, D.C. Over the next 12 weeks, this initiative will provide high-quality produce to 1,000 families living in Ward 8, an area that was once farmland and now has limited access to fresh food.
The program started November 22, 2021, with additional support from Lancaster Foods, Capital Area Food Bank and Giant Food. 1,000 households in Washington D.C.'s Ward 8 who experience food insecurity will receive a weekly box of high-quality produce that includes 50 servings of fruits and vegetables for 12 weeks—for a total of more than 600,000 servings of fresh produce. To further address disparities within our food system and help nourish local communities, families will receive recipes and tips for creating easy, affordable meals at home that feature fresh produce, as well as a box of delicious, crunchy TRISCUIT crackers and tips on pairing TRISCUIT crackers with fresh fruits and veggies. Ward 8, the lowest income Ward in D.C., has limited access to fresh food. It has been found that Wards with the least access to full-service grocery stores and the highest levels of poverty and food insecurity also have significantly worse health outcomes.
"At TRISCUIT, we believe that access to affordable, fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables, is critical to a balanced diet, but we recognize that millions of Americans living in food deserts lack this access," said Kelsey Morgan, brand manager, TRISCUIT at Mondelēz Global LLC. "That's why we're proud to announce our support of PHA. We look forward to working together to further address fundamental disparities within our food system, expand the impact of the Good Food for All program to a new city and improve food equity."
Launched in 2020 to support families disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Good Food for All (formerly known as the COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund) has since grown into a national movement, providing more than 15 million servings of fresh produce to thousands of families across the country. This year, TRISCUIT is teaming up with PHA to expand Good Food for All to a new city, building on the brand's purpose to weave more nourishment into the world.
"We believe that there is no true health equity without food equity," said Nancy E. Roman, president and CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America. "The Good Food for All program was created to fight food insecurity on the front-lines while creating solutions that make access to affordable, quality food a long-term reality for families in need. We are grateful for partners like TRISCUIT who support us in this necessary work and help us reach more families in need."
Good Food for All aims to engage food retailers across the country by demonstrating the benefits and market value of improving access to affordable, fresh food.
To drive further awareness of the program and demonstrate this value, TRISCUIT is proud to team up with Giant Food to raise awareness of food inequities at hundreds of stores across the mid-Atlantic. In addition, throughout the holiday season, shoppers at Giant Food can pick up their very own recipe booklet containing tips for incorporating fresh produce in nourishing snacks and meals.
The Missing Ingredients Project
This partnership is in service of TRISCUIT's The Missing Ingredients Project, a purpose-driven commitment to help support food desert communities' access to fresh produce. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 19 million people—6.2 percent of the United States population—live in food deserts. These are geographic areas, either urban or rural, where access to affordable, fresh food options, including fresh fruits and vegetables, is limited or non-existent. The pandemic only worsened the issue of food access across the US.
Launched in 2020, The Missing Ingredients Project aims to address the critical need faced by those living in food deserts. TRISCUIT's three-year, $1 million commitment aims to fuel the innovative efforts of twenty local changemakers who are developing innovative solutions to advance access to a variety of fresh, nourishing food in food deserts across the United States. TRISCUIT's support of PHA serves as an expansion of this commitment, helping to effect change on both a local and a national level.
