Your support of both Lifelong and our food and nutrition program, Chicken Soup Brigade (CSB), allows us to advance our mission of helping to improve the health and well-being of people living with life-challenging illnesses.
Thirty-five years ago our main goal was to get food into the bodies of people who were wasting away due to the horrific effects of AIDS. We are thankful for the powerful medications that came on the market to transform HIV from a death sentence to a manageable condition. It also changed our intent from just feeding people calories and comfort to providing medically nutritious food so clients can live long, healthy lives.
Today we continue to serve the HIV community as well as people living with other serious diagnoses. Medically tailored meals and nutritious food can make a huge difference in improving all their health outcomes. We are proud of the impact that has been made by Chicken Soup Brigade but there is still work to be done.
Research indicates that people who are low-income or food insecure, such as the clients we serve, are disproportionately living with or at-risk of food related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and obesity. Research also tells us that clients who frequent food banks would like to receive better food. We are choosing to be part of a solution to inequities such as these and we need your help to make this happen.
Moving forward CSB is making changes to the types of food we accept as donations as well as the food we purchase for our grocery bags. To provide our clients with the healthiest food available, CSB will not accept donations of sweetened beverages and candy, foods with unhealthy fats, and canned items that are high in sodium and added sugar. Further, we are prioritizing foods that provide nutritional value such as fresh produce and lean proteins – the foods that help our clients create balanced meals.
This choice is not only to supply those we serve with the nutritious food they need to better their health, but as a way to take a stand for all the individuals and families that depend on the emergency food system to survive. We believe people shouldn’t just survive – they should thrive.
We know first-hand that wholesome food can make an incredible difference for someone who is medically vulnerable. Yet we don’t only want to provide a nutritional intervention to manage a disease – we want to help prevent diseases before they start. People who are food insecure should not have to settle for just any food they are offered. They deserve food that does more than just resolve immediate hunger - it should nourish, protect, and heal the body. To us, this is an issue of food justice. With our new nutrition standards, Chicken Soup Brigade is joining with other organizations who serve vulnerable populations to prioritize client health, and end distribution of items that do not provide nutritive value.
We all need to be a part of changing the system and we’re asking you to join us in the movement. Please donate this March during National Nutrition Month.
Thank you for helping to make healthy food access a priority for the most vulnerable in our community.