Developing a comprehensive food resource guide was identified by the Wellness Action Group (WAG) as an action, that when combined with other actions in our community, that has a reasonable chance of making a difference in food insecurity in our community. This is a new program in our community.

The priority population/customers for the food resource guide are individuals experiencing food insecurity and the community programs that serve them, and the food resource guide aims to make a difference at the individual level. Implementation, which focuses on distribution of this guide, will take place in food pantry, public health, medical and non-profit settings.

This strategy addresses health disparities by offering a tool to the nearly 1/5 of adults in Haywood County experiencing food insecurity (WNC Health Network-WNCHN, 2018).

2020 Update:

The guide developed in 2019 was simplified to address the food insecurity needs that increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Haywood County Feeding Coordinator and local food service providers ensured that the guide remained up-to-date.  Food providers currently meet monthly and the guide continues to be revised weekly.  It is available in both English and Spanish.  In addition to food pantries, the guide also features free meals for children and seniors, as well as a section of other relevant resources (Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency, 2020-21).  

The partners for developing a comprehensive food resource guide include:

Evaluation Plan:

We plan to evaluate the impact of the comprehensive food resource guide through the use of Results-Based Accountability™ to monitor specific performance measures. We will be monitoring How Much, How Well and/or Better Off Performance Measures. Our evaluation activities will be tracked in the Work Plan table, above.  We will maintain a count of the number of resource guides distributed.  

Sustainability Plan:

The following is our sustainability plan for the comprehensive food resource guide: 

• Sustainability Component:
  • Following program implementation, the Wellness Action Group will continue to revise and distribute this guide.  This group includes strong champions who oversee the maintenance of this guide.  
  • This is a low-cost program, which involves minimal printing costs.  As appropriate, additional funding will be sought to assist with the continuation of this program.  
  • We will continue to track food insecurity data in our county to demonstrate the need for this intervention.  
  • The guide is suited for distribution to a diverse group of partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens, medical providers and social services providers.