Partnership for a Healthier America Welcomes MANNA to its Healthy Hunger Relief Initiative

National Healthy Hunger Relief work will double in reach, impacting more than 14 million Americans with healthier food.

The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) welcomes MANNA FoodBank, alongside twenty nine other food bank partners, to its Healthy Hunger Relief initiative, more than doubling the program’s reach to 30% of all food banks in the country. Since 2016, PHA has recognized, elevated, and accelerated the work of food banks and networked food pantries across the country that are uplifting the health and well-being of their communities.

“PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief partners serve as the foundation of our mission to transform the food landscape in pursuit of food equity,” said Nancy E. Roman, President & CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America. “Through our work together, we’re ensuring that communities and families all across the country have access to healthier, high-quality, culturally relevant, and nutritious foods.”

Healthy Hunger Relief partners will receive support from PHA to implement a comprehensive nutrition ranking system, developed by experts at Healthy Eating Research, over the next two years. In addition, PHA will provide technical assistance to help partners understand the nutritional quality of their inventory and make strategic decisions within and across food categories to improve nutritional quality, enhancing food equity for the communities they serve.

“We are excited about PHA’s experience with our current inventory system and with other food banks,” said Kelly Daly, President & CEO, Eastern Illinois Foodbank, one of PHA’s new Healthy Hunger Relief partners. “With PHA’s support, we will progress quickly toward the nutrition goals in our strategic plan. This grant provides us with critical information to help us increase the amount of nutritious products being distributed to our agencies.”

PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief initiative currently works with 28 partners, reaches more than 7 million Americans, and has introduced 115 million pounds of healthy food into the emergency food system, while removing 19 million pounds of low nutrition food. By welcoming 30 new partners to the program, PHA’s Healthy Hunger Relief work will double in reach and span across 18 states, impacting even more Americans with good food.

PHA has committed to providing 50 million servings of vegetables, fruits, and legumes to food insecure families by 2025. PHA’s work with its Healthy Hunger Relief partners is part of this broader effort to meaningfully shift the food supply in disadvantaged communities as we work to improve food equity across the country.