For our community project, our group participated with the BackPack Buddies meal distribution for the Starkville community. During our participation we observed how we nutrition students could help provide and demonstrate healthy meal options and preparations for participating families. In doing so, we had a close observation of what type of families participated in the program and how it impacted these families positively.
In conducting our community project we found many needs of the community and its people who are qualified for the Backpack Buddies program. We found that the community in Starkville is unfortunately very poor and many people have a difficult time even being able to afford healthy, if any, food to feed their families or
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Both food insecurity and nutritional status are considered and are large reasons for the existence of the program. This program provides assistance for those that are food insecure and the foods provided in the food boxes each month attempts to improve nutritional status with the choice of food items and by providing select fresh produce for the month alongside the food box. These items are distributed on a monthly basis at a given location.
The program had its ups and downs due to small difficulties like transportation for families, information of the program and its location. The back pack buddies was a terrific experience as a student to get involved with the local community and reach out to these families.
As well as the program seemed to run, it does indeed need to be fixed in some areas. The food that was provided to families were mostly in cans besides the vegetables that were given. The food could be more of a variety as well as somewhat healthier options however, it is difficult to find healthy options with such a long shelf life. The program can improve by possibly creating more food locations to better help the target population with little to no transportation be able to come pick up their monthly food at a more convenient