Health, Nutrition and Food Insecurity

Junior Leagues across the Association work to promote the importance of healthy eating, but we also know that for many in our communities, it’s not so simple. In 2016, 41.2 million people lived in food-insecure households in the United States, meaning they did not have consistent access to adequate food at times during the year.

Learn more about the issues of food access and affordability, the role they play in nutrition and health and what Junior Leagues are doing to combat this issue.

Delve into this topic further on our editorial platform 19/01.

Resources

Statistics on Food Security in the US
United States Department of Agriculture

The importance of food access
The Food Trust

Growing Up Gardens
Junior League of Monterey County, CA

Does SNAP Cover the Cost of a Meal in Your County?
Urban Institute

Kids in the Kitchen PSA Campaign
Junior League of Dayton

Healthy for Life
American Heart Association

Tap into your local food system
Healthy Food Access Portal

Kids in the Kitchen
Junior League of Peoria

Apple a Day Healthy Living Initiative
Junior League of Philadelphia, PA

Healthy People Initiative
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Preparing Children for Success
Junior League of Northern Virginia

Ending Hunger is a Gender Equity Issue
Food Research and Action Center

State of the States: Profiles of Hunger, Poverty, and Federal Nutrition Programs
Food Research and Action Center

Let it Grow
Junior League of Duluth, MN

Building a Healthy Arizona
Junior League of Phoenix

  • Growing Up Gardens

    Growing Up Gardens

    Junior League of Monterey County, CA

    Growing Up Gardens (GUG) implements edible food gardens in Monterey County schools in an effort to reduce childhood obesity rates by bringing awareness to healthy eating habits and the importance of knowing where food comes from.

    Click here to read more >

  • Apple a Day Healthy Living Initiative

    Junior League of Philadelphia, PA

    The Apple a Day Healthy Living Initiative™ is the Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc.’s multi-tiered community initiative with the goal of creating a positive impact on the health and wellness of adults and children in the Greater Philadelphia area. Apple a Day™ programming encompasses both interactive educational curriculum and a focus on increasing the region’s capacity to supply and distribute healthy food to families in need.

    Click here to read more >

  • Let It Grow

    Junior League of Duluth

    The Junior League of Duluth’s “Let it Grow” program works to address food-insecurity in the Twin Ports as part of a coalition of community partners with shared vision and resources to establish a food secure community through empowerment, enrichment and education.

    Click here to read more > 

  • FRESHPLACE

    FRESHPLACE

    The Junior League of Hartford

    In one of Hartford’s poorest neighborhoods, the Freshplace food pantry, a collaborative community initiative, tackles chronic hunger and provides education in healthy nutrition to those who need it.

    Click here to read more >

  • Little Hands, Big Difference

    LITTLE HANDS, BIG DIFFERENCE

    The Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach

    The Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach teaches children the benefits of voluntarism at an early age, with Little Hands, Big Difference, an initiative that engages them in a Thanksgiving food drive for a local food pantry.

    Click here to read more >

  • Plano Community Garden

    Plano Community Garden

    The Junior League of Collin County

    The Junior League of Collin County collaborates with municipal partners to plant an organic, self-sustaining community garden that engages volunteers from the city of Plano in helping to solve the problem of hunger with fresh produce.

    Click here to read more >

  • Bloodstream Follies

    AIDS Awareness and Education

    The Junior League of Los Angeles followed by more than 60 other Leagues

    The Junior League of Los Angeles dared to break the stigma of AIDS by setting up a hotline and speakers’ bureau to dispel fear and misinformation. Its work inspired numerous other Leagues to engage in similar efforts.  

    Click here to read more > 

  • shots to remember book

    Don’t Wait to Vaccinate

    276 Leagues under the auspices of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc.

    The Association of Junior Leagues International undertook an international public awareness campaign entitled “Don’t Wait to Vaccinate” to alert parents to the importance of immunizations for their children.  

    Click here to read more >

  • HEALTHY CHILD INITIATIVE

    The Junior League of Charlotte

    Designed to improve the health and well-being of at-risk children, The Junior League of Charlotte’s Healthy Child Initiative has served more than 22,000 children with programs to support their physical, dental and mental health.

    Click here to read more >

  • The Healthy Food Retail Act

    The Junior League of Greater Orlando

    The Junior League of Orlando works with the Junior Leagues of Florida State Public Affairs Community in educating legislators about the need for retailers who sell healthy food in food-insecure neighborhoods.

    Click here to read more >

  • In the Garden

    In the Garden with Tree House Books

    The Junior League of Philadelphia

    The Junior League of Philadelphia promotes children’s health and wellness, literacy, and environmental conscientiousness with a single after-school program for at-risk kids.

    Click here to read more >

  • The Junior League of Calgary Junior Chefs

    Junior Chefs

    The Junior League of Calgary

    Begun in 2001 by The Junior League of Calgary, Junior Chefs grew into a multi-national program now operating in more than 200 communities. 

    Click here to read more >

  • Montgomery Food Pantry

    The Junior League of Montgomery Brings AIDS and HIV patients and their families a new source of nutritional food

    In 2012, The Junior League of Montgomery partnered with Medical Aids Outreach (MAO) to start, staff, and stock a food pantry for people struggling with HIV and AIDS.

    Click here to read more >

  • SuperKids Pediatric Mobile Clinic

    The SuperKids Pediatric Mobile Clinic

    The Junior League of Houston

    With a significant portion of its city’s young people not being served with adequate medical care, The Junior League of Houston spearheaded the SuperKids Pediatric Mobile Clinic initiative to bring care to the children.

    Click here to read more >