Access to quality food is essential for healthy physical and mental function, especially in the development and growth of children. Eating balanced meals is a great way to incorporate vitamins and minerals into everyday eating and helps promote healthy eating habits in the long run. Forming healthy eating habits and consuming a wide variety of food is very important in early stages of life, especially during the formative years of childhood. Eating a wide variety of food is a good way to ensure that the body is getting essential vitamins and minerals for growth and maintaining health.           A great way to optimize health and get needed vitamins and minerals is to make sure each meal is well-balanced. A well-rounded meal includes a variety of nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, different sources of protein, and healthy oils. Healthy eating patterns also involve limiting saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars, and ex...

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity is when healthy food intake and eating patterns become disrupted due to lacking access to quality foods or resources (Nord et al., 2005). Healthy diets are critical for optimal mental and physical functions, even when it is hard to make ends meet. At the HIGH Program, our mission is to provide financially struggling students with the resources and assistance, so they don’t have to sacrifice their dreams of obtaining their degree. No one should need to choose between a healthy meal and a place to be warm through the night. We have put together resources to make it easier to find local food banks and food pantries in your area.      Let us start with the difference between food banks and food pantries. Knowing the difference will help determine proximity to quality food. It also may help shorten the time between arriving at the site and receiving food. Food Bank - A food bank is an organizatio...