The Brunswick Wellness Coalition (BWC) launched the Give Healthy Food Drive campaign in November 2018, to increase access to healthy, nutritious food for those that are food insecure. 

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Children and adults suffering from food insecurity report poor physical and mental health and have a much higher rate of developing diet-related health issues like obesity, diabetes, depression and cancer.

Healthy foods requested during the Give Healthy campaign include: 

• Lean proteins like nuts, low sodium and all-natural peanut butter, dry beans or low-sodium canned beans and canned chicken or seafood packed in water.
• Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. If canned, itemsshould be in either 100 percent water or 100 percent juice with no added salt and/or no added sugar.
• Low sodium (500 milligrams or less) soups that include vegetables and have at least two grams of fiber.
• Pasta, rice, cereal and breads with the first ingredient listed as whole grain or whole wheat with no added sugar or very low sugar (less than eight grams per serving).

Food collected during the food drives are then distributed to food pantryies across Brunswick County for distriubtion to the community. 

Organizations who would like to host a GiveHealthy Food Drive or if you would like more information about the campaign, contact BWC at 910-367-5277 or at brunswickwellnesscoalition@gmail.com BWC will help market the drive and provide educational materials to promote healthy food donations. https://brunswickwellness.org/give-healthy/

• Food pantries
• South Brunswick PORCH
• Brunswick Forest PORCH
• BWC Membership

Brunswick Wellness Coalition (BWC) developed promotional material and coordinated with numerous food collections sites across Brunswick County many in which are organizational members of BWC.

• 14,300 pounds from 15 BWC Healthy Food Drives
• 7 Food Pantries received over 42,000 pounds of fresh produce *Not from healthy food drive

Source: 2023 BWC Annual Impact Report 

Dosher Memorial Hospital, in partnership with the Brunswick Wellness Coalition (BWC), will host a drive through food donation event to benefit identified high need areas within Brunswick County. Donors may drive up to the hospital front entrance on Wednesday July 10 th between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm to drop off healthy, non-perishable food items to members of hospital and BWC staff, who will coordinate distribution to local food pantries through South Brunswick PORCH and other non-profit organizations that promote access in nutritious foods. Learn more at Dosher Media Release: Drive-Through Food Donation Collection Event Set for July 10th