BOISE, Idaho -- Boise State University nursing students and the Idaho Foodbank are teaming up to establish healthy food as crucial medicine for Idahoans.

The nursing students are helping the Foodbank develop food "farmacies" in Idaho.

Jeannine Suter, an adjunct member of the faculty at the Boise State University School of Nursing, said the idea of food as medicine has been eye-opening for the students and for her.

"They know what food insecurity is. They know what eating healthy is," Suter explained. "But combining those two concepts to say, 'OK, these people who are food insecure with chronic health conditions. Oh, we can help them with these prescriptions and these food pharmacies.'"

Food insecurity is linked to higher incidences of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart and kidney diseases. One in nine Idahoans is experiencing food insecurity, according to recent data from Feeding America. For children, the rate is even higher: about one in eight.

Shannon Rumsey, clinical associate professor at the Boise State University School of Nursing, said rural parts of the state suffer most from food insecurity and lack of access to healthy foods. But being able to refer people to more nutritious sources in partnership with Idaho Foodbank will help fill that gap.

"I know when I worked in a hospital, I would try to tell patients, 'You can eat this, you can't eat this anymore, you can eat this,'" Rumsey recounted. "But I never would even really assess, 'OK, do you even have access to this food that I want you to eat?'"

Amy Luginbill, director of community initiatives for the Idaho Foodbank, said the pandemic hit the state hard, but it has also motivated more people to work together.

"From the pandemic, one of the positive takeaways has been what we've experienced almost overwhelming support and encouragement of collaboration at a community level between organizations," Luginbill stated.

The nursing school is going to refine the food "farmacy" program and hopes to launch a site next semester.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- More than $1 million in COVID-19 relief grants are helping rural organizations increase their focus on locally sourced food relief.

Merry Davis, director of healthy food for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation of North Carolina, explained the grants, issued in partnership with The Conservation Fund, focused on non-urban counties.

She said rural regions continue to face significant challenges.

"A lot of these rural communities are high-yield agricultural areas and a lot of these organizations are partnering with small and mid-sized farms to provide local food," Davis outlined. "So not only is it providing people food, but it's also supporting local farmers."

The need for food has increased in North Carolina as the pandemic drags on, with nearly 20% of all residents facing food insecurity, according to the group Feeding America.

Deborah Freeman, program director for the Good Shepherd Food Pantry of Bertie County, said the extra cash will help her organization support local farmers, bring more produce to families, and provide commercial refrigeration to extend the shelf life needed to distribute fresh produce.

"We were able to get a commercial freezer, a commercial refrigerator," Freeman recounted. "We were able to locate local farmers in the area, purchase food from them, that food went to the farmer's market."

Dru Zucchino, executive director of TRACTOR Food and Farms in Yancey County, said the support has helped his group expand services across western North Carolina, increasing access to community-grown foods to more than 11,000 food-insecure individuals.

"We were able to reach whoever needed it, so if we ran out in one place we could continue serving that constituency, or that population, without question," Zucchino pointed out. "It was super important to have that flexibility through a pandemic."

Federal data released earlier this month showed nationwide, food insecurity spiked among households with children, Black households and households in the South.

The food-insecurity gap between Black and white households widened, with 21.7% of Black households not knowing where their next meal would come from, compared with 7.1% of white households.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Groups fighting hunger and poverty in Oregon are urging renewed action this month to ensure that everyone is fed. September is Hunger Action Month across the country.

Oregon Food Bank is holding its "State of Hunger" address virtually this Friday, which also is Hunger Action Day. Susannah Morgan, chief executive of Oregon Food Bank, said the pandemic has been hard on many families - and recovery could be slow.

"Hunger nearly doubled in Oregon and southwest Washington," she said, "and it would have been worse were it not for federal stimulus efforts - stimulus checks directly to people, or additional unemployment benefits or additional benefits through SNAP, moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures."

Morgan said many of these federal policies are expiring, causing worry that more people could experience greater food insecurity heading into the winter months. Oregon Food Bank's network of pantries and partners across the state and in southwest Washington reached more than 1.7 million people over the past year.

Hunger was an issue before the pandemic, Morgan noted, and some communities - including neighborhoods of color and immigrant communities - face disproportionate impacts from food insecurity. She encouraged people to get involved this month.

"This is Hunger Action Month, right? It's not hunger 'awareness' month," she said. "And so, what we are hoping is that every person in the community will take some action. Whatever action is in your heart."

Morgan said there are many ways for folks to take that action, whether it's donating food or money, volunteering at a local food pantry, or writing to their elected officials. Oregon Food Bank's State of Hunger address will begin at 10:45 a.m. on Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS -- More Minnesota school districts are welcoming back students this week. Because of the pandemic, schools are receiving federal aid to boost their meal services, and a new Minnesota law blocks them from acting forcibly over unpaid lunch debt.

The bipartisan provision, included in a new spending bill, seeks to end "lunch-shaming" and calls for state intervention if a violation occurs.

Leah Gardner, policy director for Hunger Solutions Minnesota, said they had been working on this issue for nearly a decade. Leading up to the pandemic, she pointed out, it was still a problem even with past incidents garnering negative attention.

"We have continued to see some practices, such as dumping kids' lunches in front of all the other students," Gardner reported.

For now, the federal government is reimbursing districts for free meals to all students, and groups like Hunger Solutions continue to press for universal lunches when things return to normal.

Gardner noted one plan calls on the state to better utilize the federal funds available for high-poverty districts to offer meals to everyone. GOP lawmakers have cited cost concerns when debating an expansion of school meal programs.

There are also calls for Congress to improve the funding formula, potentially allowing more schools to qualify for what's known as the Community Eligibility Provision, when a majority of their students are lower-income.

Colleen Moriarty, executive director for Hunger Solutions Minnesota, said the eventual goal is lunches for all students, no matter their background. She contended the past year has changed the conversation about food insecurity, and students' needs.

"If you're concerned about behavior or absenteeism, or the ability to focus, there is no greater way to reinforce the importance of being able and ready to learn than by making sure that people have the nutrition they need," Moriarty asserted.

Some states, like California and Maine, have adopted their own universal lunch programs. Responding to cost concerns cited by opponents, supporters argue in addition to reducing stigma, such a move could reduce administrative costs.