Northam unveils 10-goal plan to combat food insecurity in Va.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, nearly 850,000 Virginians were already considered food insecure, meaning they can’t reliably access food. In the wider Hampton Roads area alone, there are more than 180,000 people who fall into that category, a third of them children.

The COVID-19 crisis has thrown the issue into even sharper relief, state officials said this week. An additional nearly half a million people in the state are experiencing food insecurity due to the pandemic.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ralph Northam released what he calls the Virginia Roadmap to End Hunger. It was produced by his administration’s Children’s Cabinet after state officials held town hall listening sessions in seven cities, including Hampton and Norfolk.

“This pandemic has created challenges for the entire food system and added new burdens on thousands of Virginia families,” Northam said in a news release. The roadmap “looks beyond our current struggles and outlines a way forward to end hunger in the Commonwealth and ensure equitable access to healthy, affordable food for all Virginians.”

The document outlines 10 major “aspirational goals” that officials think are the best ways to improve food security in Virginia over the next five years:

Get at least 90% of people who are eligible for SNAP — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp — benefits to participate in the program. To achieve this, state officials plan to increase the number of vendors to do SNAP outreach, especially in rural areas and among seniors. There are plenty of areas in the state where a large proportion of people are eligible but participation is low.

Create a framework for incentivizing investment in food deserts and marginalized communities. Food deserts are urban or rural areas where it can be difficult to find affordable, healthy food nearby — such as the St. Paul’s community in Norfolk. Virginia officials want to bring food options to those areas by supporting corner stores, offering money to draw in businesses and more.

Get every school that has more than half of its students eligible for free meals to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision. The CEP reimburses schools for offering free meals to all students.

Get an average of 70% of students who are eligible for reduced-price school lunches to also participate in school breakfast.

In all localities, provide adequate nutritional support for children during school breaks through summer food programs and food banks. Officials also want to secure funding for an electronic benefit transfer program that would give extra money to SNAPparticipating households with children over breaks.

Make WIC and other food programs available at all major farmers markets. The Virginia Cooperative Extension is also working to get more farmers markets to accept food stamps.

Make food security and benefit program information readily accessible. Efforts toward this were launched last year with FeedVA.org, an interactive website that displays resources across the state.

„ Make evidence-based nutrition education available to all food-insecure families. Knowing how and what to purchase and how to prepare and cook good meals is a “critical component” to overcoming the problem, according to the report.

Expand home-delivered meals to seniors and people with disabilities as a Medicaid-covered service.

Establish a statewide network of regional “Hunger Action Coalitions” to advance the roadmap’s goals and identify local ways to improve food access.