MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. -- A pilot program designed to increase food pantries’ capacity to provide health-related foods and services recently completed its initial classes.

Mississippi State University Extension Service’s AIM for CHangE offered the Healthy Hub Initiative, a four-month series of educational events for selected food pantries, from January to April. It was developed in response to listening sessions with local supplemental food providers, commonly known as food pantries or food distribution programs. This initiative is a collaborative effort between MSU, the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi and the Community First Research Center for Wellbeing and Creative Achievement, or CREW, at the University of Mississippi.

Session topics included food policy; client choice and Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) systems; supporting client chronic disease self-management; and grant writing, evaluation planning and business strategies.

“Local pantries shared that they wanted more resources and information on how to provide healthier food options to their clients,” said Sophie Hathaway, Mississippi Delta fellow at the University of Mississippi and coordinator of the Healthy Hub Initiative. “Additionally, there was interest in increasing the role that food providers are able to play in connecting their clients with health resources and supporting clients who are managing chronic conditions.”

Hathaway said food is the universal entry point to providing other social services.

“Every pantry I know, if asked, can list its clients who have chronic conditions, are unhoused, or are out of work,” she said. “Pantries can act as the critical bridge between health services and clients, using their client knowledge to help screen and identify community members in need who otherwise are not connecting with social services and seeking medical care.”

As part of the initiative, participating organizations identified a pantry-specific project focused on improving healthy eating and client wellness. Pantry leaders worked with Hathaway to write a grant application for funding to implement the project and received seed money to launch their project.

From May to August, the pantries will implement and collect data on their grant-funded projects. In August, each pantry will receive a mini-evaluation and project impact report that they can incorporate into future grant applications.

Keltra Chandler, program manager with AIM for CHangE, said the team is working to formalize the curriculum developed during the pilot phase.

“A curriculum will allow food pantry operators to train new staff as they are hired rather than waiting for us to train them,” she said. “We plan to train MSU Extension agents so they can train local food pantry operators as well. Ideally, the curriculum would become part of the Mississippi Food Network’s system so that food pantries across the state would benefit from the training and increase healthy options for their clients.”

AIM for CHangE is short for Advancing, Inspiring, Motivating for Community Health through Extension. The award-winning program was launched in 2018 and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For more information on AIM for CHangE and how it is helping to reduce obesity and improve the health of Mississippi communities, visit http://msuext.ms/aim.