The Nevada County Public Health Department is proud to announce that our nutrition education program was recognized for "Excellence in Programs" by the California Department of Public Health. This award recognizes community collaboration and collective impact. The award recognizes the partnership between the nutrition education program and Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM), and the eight years they have been working together.
This partnership has blossomed from one-off food tastings for clients, nutrition classes and volunteer trainings to long-term policy work to influence the very foods that the pantry offers to its clients. Working with Public Health, in March 2016, the IFM adopted a nutrition policy that now guides their healthy purchasing and distribution practices to the 8,000+ clients they reach every year.
Surveys were conducted to gather input from clients on food preference and in turn influenced purchasing patterns for additional protein and other nutritious foods. Staff also influenced the work of one local farm to work more closely with IFM to provide more fresh vegetables.
The close relationships fostered over the years has helped IFM to understand the relationship between their food offerings and client health. Now when you walk into IFM on distribution day you will see an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables, and additional sources of protein, educational boards, and more.
