The Brunswick Wellness Coalition (BWC) launched the Give Healthy Food Drive Campaign in 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.

Foods promoted in the Give Healthy campaign include:

• Lean proteins like nuts, low sodium and all-naturalpeanut butter, dry beans or low-sodium canned beans and canned chicken orseafood 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/orno added sugar.
• Low sodium (500 milligrams or less) soups that includevegetables and have at least two grams of fiber.
• Pasta, rice, cereal and breads with the firstingredient listed as whole grain or whole wheat with no added sugar or very lowsugar (less than eight grams per serving).

If you and/or your organization 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 brunswickwellnesscoalition@gmail.com .BWC will help market the drive and provide educational materials to promotehealthy food donations.