VASNHS and Three Square Launch Food Box Program for Veterans in Need
VASNHS has kicked off an Emergency Food Box Program in partnership with Three Square Food Bank. This program is intended to provide food items such as canned goods, pasta, rice, and other non-perishables for Veterans who are in need.
VASNHS has kicked off an Emergency Food Box Program in partnership with Three Square Food Bank. This program is intended to provide food items such as canned goods, pasta, rice, and other non-perishables for Veterans who are in need.
“Every day, there are Veterans across Southern Nevada that struggle to provide adequate nutrition for themselves and their families,” said Monica Lobo, Nutrition Program Coordinator. “We recognize that one food-insecure Veteran is one too many, and we hope that this partnership with VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System and Three Square will be the first step to bringing nourishment to those Veterans.”
Staff from the VASNHS Nutrition and Community Resource and Referral Center programs were able to source an initial donation of 63 boxes, which are distributed through Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) Social Work for Veterans who screen positive for Homelessness/Food Insecurity and will be replenished on a monthly basis through June 2025.
This program was initially planned during the COVID-19 pandemic, but challenges in staffing and funding delayed the pilot launch. Once the logistical challenges were overcome and a process for storage had been established, they began rollout and distribution in April 2024. VASNHS and Three Square will continuously review data to justify the need, available funding, feedback from VA staff, and stories from our Veterans.”
Food is a social driver of health and defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, or a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. Food insecure individuals are more likely to have physical and mental health problems.
A Veteran Food Security Committee Charter is in the works to spearhead program expansion. VASNHS clinicians will be completing the Homelessness/Food Insecurity Clinical Reminder for all Veterans annually, and quarterly for those who screen positive.
For more information about VA Nutrition and Food Services, please visit the VHA Food Security Office at https://www.nutrition.va.gov/Food_Insecurity.asp.