At A Glance
People with food insecurity are at higher risk of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, yet have less access to lower-sodium foods. Through the Healthy Food Environments project, emergency food organizations in King County worked with public health and university-based partners to reduce sodium in foods distributed at food pantries. Twelve pantries received training, technical assistance, and funds to implement nutrition standards and behavioral design strategies, making lower-sodium items more accessible for 65,000 people.
Public Health Challenge
In King County, Washington, heart disease and stroke are the second and fifth leading causes of death, respectively. High blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, is more common in some racial and ethnic minority groups and among people with low income or food insecurity. Consuming less sodium is recommended to reduce high blood pressure, but people with food insecurity may be unable to afford or access healthy food and may rely on foods offered in food pantries. These foods are often nonperishable, highly processed, and high in sodium. With food pantries serving more than 1 in 9 King County residents in 2018, increasing the availability of healthy, lower-sodium foods in these venues may contribute to lower blood pressure for their clients.
Approach
The Healthy Food Environments project provided training, technical assistance, and funding for supplies to 12 food pantries in the South King County Food Coalition (SKCFC). The project supported two strategies: (1) behavioral design changes that use marketing and product placement to encourage customers to choose healthy, lower-sodium foods and (2) development of nutrition standards to guide procurement, distribution, and food environment decision making. A nonprofit hunger relief agency, the county extension-based SNAP-Ed program, the county public health department, and university-based evaluators helped implement these strategies.