NEWBURY – First Parish Food Bank patrons were greeted last Friday with a new labeling system on the food packages they received designed to encourage them to make healthier eating choices.
In a new program with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Boston Food Bank, the Newbury food bank is labeling most packages with green, yellow or red stickers. Like traffic lights, green signifies a good selection, the food in a yellow label should be eaten occasionally or in, and items with a red label probably contain lots of sodium or other ingredients that are less healthy and should be avoided.
The food bank is the only one in the region participating in the labeling program. “We feel good about that,” said Glenn Holt, a volunteer who is helping run the labeling program.
In the food bank’s online ordering system, 70 to 80 percent of the donated food products were labeled to help patrons know how much saturated fat, sodium and added sugars they contain. It is similar to a system used in Europe to encourage healthier eating, Holt said.
MGH and the Boston Food Bank are collaborating on the two-year labeling project to determine if the green, yellow and red labels will educate patrons of the food bank about healthy eating.
As part of the program, MGH researchers interviewed half a dozen volunteers among the food bank clients to determine what choices they made in the ordering system. Included was a finger monitor to test how much carotin, which is created by the amount of vegetables a person eats, was in their system.
Last year, the Newbury food bank provided food for 34,620 family members, a 25.7 percent increase over 2023, and picked and packed 64,222 bags of food, a 17 percent increase over 2023. Its guests, who have transportation issues, received 8,978 food orders, an increase of 20.5 percent, the food bank reported.
For more on the First Parish Food Bank or to order food for next week, visit www.newburyfoodpantry.org. ♦
