Access to Healthy Foods

Why It Matters

Access to healthy food is a basic need of every Oregonian, but many people struggle with food insecurity. Not only do we need access to enough nutritious food, we also need safe places to eat and clean drinking water.

According to the Oregon Health Authority’s 2018 State Health Assessment, “Among children in Oregon, one in five are food-insecure, which means that they lack access to nutritionally adequate and safe food… Single mothers in Oregon have higher food-insecurity rates than single mothers in every other state in the country.” (1)

What We Are Doing

Local public health authorities (LPHAs) know that their communities need access to healthy food, especially pregnant women and mothers with young children. LPHAs oversee their local Women Infant and Children (WIC) Program that helps these populations have proper nutrition during critical times so that they are healthier for years to come. LPHAs also work with community partners to increase access to healthy food for populations that are at the highest risk of food insecurity.

In the 2019 legislative session CLHO supported several bills to increase access to healthy food including HB 2639 that would make children up to six eligible for WIC.  HB 2837 and SB 727 would have allowed supplemental nutrition assistance programs to use benefits at farmer’s markets. Unfortunately, these bills did not pass the 2019 legislative session, but we will continue to work on legislation that creates additional opportunities for communities to access healthy foods.