About FAN
In March 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture awarded the National Healthy Start Association (NHSA) with a cooperative agreement for a one-year project focused on addressing food insecurity in Healthy Start Communities.
The primary goal of this project is to collaborate as a Healthy Start grantee leadership team along with the Community Action Networks (CANs) or Community Consortia to identify and enhance individual and existing leadership capabilities, manage local natural food and nutrition assets and resources, and foster partnerships, particularly those that impact access to quality food that in turn will lead to intentional paradigm shifts and equitable Food and Nutrition across Healthy Start Communities.
How Many People Lived in Food-insecure Households?
In 2022:
- 44.2 million people lived in food-insecure households.
- 11.7 million adults lived in households with very low food security.
- 7.3 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure.
- 783,000 children (1.1 percent of the Nation’s children) lived in households in which one or more child experienced very low food security.
Where is FAN?
The Food and Nutrition (FAN) for Better Health Leadership Institute is in 14 Healthy Start communities across the United States. Each FAN site worked together as FAN Leadership Team to organize food and nutrition events/activities in their respective communities, offering participants access to healthy, nutritious foods and nutrition education. Throughout the project, FAN Leadership Teams received personalized technical assistance and participated in webinars focusing on general nutrition, understanding chronic disease, leadership development, and innovative strategies for engaging fathers in food and nutrition.
Click on the state, to view the Community Profile.
FAN Capstone Event
The FAN Capstone Event, held in San Juan, PR, marked the culmination of the project. Each site had the opportunity to showcase their achievements, highlight the obstacles they overcame, share measurable outcomes, and provide details regarding the FAN activities/events they implemented within their communities. Some of the activities implemented in communities included the distribution of container garden kits, food bucks, and vouchers for fresh produce to families, the creation of community cookbooks, the facilitation of nutrition education sessions, the development of a Community Garden Manual, and the establishment of a community garden.
Additionally, the Capstone Event featured information on utilizing data to effectively communicate results, ongoing resource development, and insights from the data collected throughout the project. Furthermore, two local guest speakers explored the history of Puerto Rico and delved into Puerto Rican culture through food.
Resources
Lesson Plans and Handouts
The Food and Nutrition lesson plans were created to provide guidance and practical tips on how to effectively incorporate healthy, nutritious eating habits and promote overall well-being in the lives of women and birthing persons, fathers, infants, and children 2-10 years old.
Effective Community Engagement Toolkit
This module is designed for those who work in the Healthy Start program and for other communities where improving the health of mothers, infants and families is a priority. This module includes prompting questions aimed at facilitating and enriching discussions about community involvement.
Featured Partner Resources
Community Gardening Manual
The Community Garden Manual was created by the Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium, Inc. to provide a user-friendly resource manual to support first time planters and experiences local gardeners. This manual also increases awareness and education of the benefits of a community garden and strengthens and increase existing partnerships that prioritizes access to healthy foods. In the end, our vision is to create a path for families to develop healthy eating lifestyles.
Food and Nutrition Modules
South Phoenix Healthy Start developed Virtual Food and Nutrition Modules for Healthy Start Participants and Community Members.
Healthy Recipes
Healthy Start Communities that C.A.R.E provided Healthy Start Participants with live cooking demonstrations and distributed food kits/supplies to ensure food security and to promote self-confidence in cooking skills.
Lift Healthy Start created a Healthy cookbook to show clients how to implement healthy options while cooking.
Looking for Additional Information
Acknowledgment of Support
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750012C003.
“Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, any reference to specific brands or types of products or services does not constitute or imply an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for those products or services.”
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.