Giving Super Healthy Food to the Food Bank

'Tis the season of giving, and giving food. While this does include the typical cookie and candy fare, it's also more common for folks to give food to their local food banks during the holiday season than any other time of the year. And just as the food we eat during the holidays might not be the most healthy foods, the food products we tend to donate to the food pantry isn't all that healthy.

If you've ever volunteered at a food pantry, handing out food to those who need it, you're probably familiar with the nature of the majority of the "food" handed out. The foundation of food pantry stock is constituted by USDA commodity foods and other bulk donations, which aren't exactly the most appetizing things on the menu. Though many food banks do take steps to provide more fresh, healthy food choices to their clients, the nature of the food bank world is still quite dependent on seconds and handouts, absorbing unwanted foods and items past their sell-by date. Because of this, most food banks offer a large collection of unappealing and not so nutritious, processed foods.

While it is true that when you're hungry, any food is good food, more effort should be exerted in providing good, healthy food for hungry people. Fresh fruits and vegetables are wonderful, but even an upgrade in canned and preserved goods can do wonders. Before you stock up on extra cans to give to your school or church food drive, take a cue from one little non-profit based in San Diego, CA called SuperFood Drive.

SuperFood Drive aims to transform the ho-hum, business as usual food drives into particularly healthy food drives, emphasizing the importance of collecting nutrient-dense "super foods" versus  typical empty calorie foods. the healthy foods that SuperFood has identified as having the most bang for their buck include whole grains and oats, beans, nuts and seeds, salmon, canned veggies without salt and canned fruits in their own juices rather than sugar.  Though these foods can all be found in non-perishable form, they still fit the nutrient-dense requirements that make them better than your average non-perishable. In fact, many of the suggested super foods are only slightly different than what we normally might donate, but a whole lot better. It's the difference of buying whole grain pasta rather than white, or no sugar added pineapple over corn syrup laden fruit cocktails. Seemingly little things can make a big difference in the nutritional integrity of donated food.

You can visit the SuperFood Drive website to find out how you can initiate a SuperFood Drive in your own community using educational materials and community outreach. You can also refer to their list of super foods to find out what you can give to your local food bank this season (and throughout the year!). This year you can really be a part of giving the gift of health by choosing to give real healthy foods to those who are hungry.