FOODiversity is collaborating with Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee to increase access to allergen-friendly and gluten-free foods in 18 Tennessee counties. Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee's Allergy-Friendly Pantry Initiative (AFPI) aims to make food pantries and programming more accessible to people with food allergies, celiac disease, alpha-gal syndrome, and food intolerances.Working together to assess community needs and develop systems at the food bank level, FOODiversity and Second Harvest will expand access for more than 202,500 people in the 18-county region experiencing food insecurity, an estimated 50,000 of those also impacted by dietary restrictions.

MARYVILLE, Tenn., April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Wendy Gordon Pake, Executive Director of FOODiversity, and Allison Stokoe, Nutrition Educator at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee (SHFB-ETN), share a special interest in increasing access to allergen-friendly foods for individuals and households experiencing food insecurity. FOODiversity and SHFB-ETN first connected in April 2024 to prepare for Food Allergy Awareness Week.

During the early discussions, Pake presented FOODiversity's program that provides guidance and resources to enhance food banks and food pantries. Through this partnership, food pantries find ways to become more welcoming, inclusive, and supportive for people with food allergies, celiac disease, and alpha-gal syndrome. Stokoe, who has food allergies herself, understands the critical nature of creating a safe and helpful environment for people with dietary restrictions, which includes immediate access to allergen-friendly food.

Stokoe took the lead on the Allergy-Friendly Pantry Initiative (AFPI), along with Courtney Liles, SHFB-ETN's Nutrition Access Program Manager and Registered Dietitian.

Initial FOODiversity support included:

• General guidelines about storing, displaying, and distributing allergen-friendly products.
• A site visit to a FOODiversity client, BackPack Beginnings (BPB) in Greensboro (NC), to learn about the BPB Family Market's use of client intake data and its process improvements to serve individual patrons and community agencies in need of allergen-friendly products.
• Introductions to food sourcing options, such as Attane Health, who specialize in allergen-friendly products.
• Connection to a food safety education program offered by a national food allergy advocacy organization.
• FOODiversity's Food Pantry & Food Bank Assessment Tools.

A 2024 study shed light on how food pantries across the U.S. are addressing - or, in many cases, unable to address - the needs of individuals with dietary restrictions who are seeking food assistance. Researchers found that many food pantries do not inquire about dietary restrictions, even though this is a critical step in the intake process. This is often due to the staffing, inventory, and funding challenges that characterize many food pantries and charitable food organizations. (Miller et al. (2024)).

In an update to FOODiversity, Stokoe shared about the AFPI's intentional approach to "create a sustainable program that meets the needs of the neighbors [we] serve."

The AFPI recently launched a neighbor-facing survey that asks the public to weigh in about their needs for allergen-friendly or gluten-free food. The AFPI survey, a customized version of FOODiversity's Food Pantry Patron Questionnaire, aims to 1) identify what types of dietary restrictions are prevalent in different parts of the East Tennessee service area, which will inform the procurement of allergen-friendly alternatives, and 2) gather data on the overlap between dietary restrictions and food insecurity in the region.

Prior to releasing this survey to Tennessee neighbors, the AFPI sought the expertise of its network of pantry operators. With the support of a University of Tennessee Public Policy Masters student, the AFPI team was able to visit partner pantries and speak with pantry operators and staff about their challenges and needs.

As responses from the community pour in, FOODiversity and SHFB-ETN look forward to the impact the findings will have on food access across East Tennessee, and beyond. Elaine Streno, Executive Director of SHFB-ETN said, "Our partnership with FOODiversity, which began as part of our Allergy-Friendly Pantry Initiative (AFPI), will help us better understand the needs of East Tennesseans. We are grateful for this opportunity to better serve our neighbors experiencing food insecurity."

Lately, much of FOODiversity's efforts, along with those of other food allergy, celiac disease, and alpha-gal syndrome organizations, are focused on proactive disaster response planning. "Hurricane Helene was a wake-up call about the disruptions in systems during natural disaster response; distributing allergen-friendly and gluten-free foods was much more difficult during this time," expressed Pake. To launch this effort with meaningful, systemic impact, FOODiversity is committed to bringing national hunger relief organizations and other key stakeholders together to create a unified and coordinated approach for future disaster response. "This partnership with SHFB-ETN, and the valuable findings from the AFPI research, will strengthen our future collaborations with organizations who are driven to end hunger," says Pake.

About FOODiversity

Founded in 2020, FOODiversity is headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, and serves people across the U.S. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit was established to lessen the burden of food insecurity for individuals and families with food allergy, celiac disease, alpha gal syndrome, or other food intolerances. FOODiversity's mission is to prevent hunger, medical emergencies, and hospitalizations by raising awareness, providing educational support, and increasing access.

About Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, a Partner Food Bank of Feeding America, has worked to compassionately feed East Tennesseans experiencing hunger since 1982. Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 26.3 million pounds of food across an 18-county service area through eight hunger-relief programs and 670+ community partners.

References
Miller ME, Virkud Y, Rodriguez GM, Pake WG. The availability of allergen-friendly food for college students experiencing food insecurity: exploring current campus practices. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2024;133(5):585-591.e6.

Media Contact

Executive Director, FOODiversity, 1 704-255-5108, info@FOODiversity.org, https://foodiversity.org/

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SOURCE FOODiversity