News

An annual study released by Feeding America is showing the continuation of a positive trend in the total number of Idahoans who are food-insecure. The Map the Meal Gap report provides critical information including food insecurity rates for both the state and county level as well as the family budget shortfall for food-insecure Idahoans. Overall, the state’s numbers improved by 0.9 percentage points. Unfortunately, one in eight Idahoans and one in six children is still food insecure.

The Idaho Foodbank, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Feeding America are kicking off the sixth annual nationwide “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign, which will run from April 22 to May 20. There are three ways to participate – purchasing a participating item in-store or online, donating in-store or donating on Feeding America’s website.

In celebration of National Nutrition Month, The Idaho Foodbank has launched a statewide effort to increase the food and funds collected in March and provide hungry Idahoans with food for more than 1,000,000 healthy and nutritious meals.

The government has reopened until at least February 15, 2019, but there are still significant concerns about the shutdown’s lingering effects. Federal workers are waiting for backpay, federal contract employees have lost income, and food stamp (SNAP) recipients are worried. As the state’s largest hunger relief organization and largest distributor of free food assistance, The Idaho Foodbank’s increase in food distribution will provide for an additional 266,000 meals starting this week and extending into early March.

The USDA recently announced that SNAP benefits will be funded through February. States are being asked to issue February SNAP benefits early – on or by January 20, 2019.

Nine Idaho organizations expressed their support for the food assistance provisions laid out in the newly agreed upon farm bill that passed with overwhelming support from Congress this week. On Monday night, House and Senate leaders released a farm bill agreement that protects and strengthens food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for Idaho families.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, in conjunction with Feeding Children Everywhere, Albertsons and The Idaho Foodbank, will work together to create more than 61,000 meals for Idaho’s local communities.

Happy Day Brands and the Idaho Foodbank were joined by Nampa School District officials and members of the Nampa City Council today as the first donation of the 100,000 servings heading to school pantries around the state filled the cupboards of Snake River Elementary School.

Stinker Stores across Idaho participated in “Stomp out Hunger,” a company-wide campaign created to provide as much help as possible to families in need during the holiday season. The Stinker Stores annual campaign delivered a record-breaking drive for the 7th year in a row.

As part of the annual Turkey Bucks campaign, shoppers at Albertsons stores in southern Idaho had the opportunity to add to their purchase totals to donate $1, $5 or $10 to Idaho families in need. On Thursday, November 13, Albertsons came to The Idaho Foodbank with a truck filled with 3,067 full turkey dinners for the families who need them most.