The food insecurity rate is 45% among students at the University of North Florida, according to Jamie Marchio, a UNF professor at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and director of the Center for Nutrition and Food Security. 

That means almost half the student population has limited or uncertain access to nutritious and safe foods.

The UNF Center for Nutrition and Food Security provides a resource for students to volunteer and learn about the importance of nutrition in their own lives while giving back to the community to fight against food insecurity.

Programs for UNF and beyond

There are two flagship programs within CNFS: a program called Nourish to Flourish and another called Meals on Wings. According to Marchio, Nourish to Flourish is where UNF volunteers provide demonstrations to children ages 8-13 on healthy meal preparation. Meals on Wings focuses on sending repackaged meals to low-income communities throughout Jacksonville. 

According to Marchio, Nourish to Flourish is a five-week program. Each week, UNF volunteers produce an educational cooking demonstration for children at after-school clubs. At the end of each demonstration, the children get to take home a free food basket and a copy of a recipe. 

The program provides a free assessment to determine the students’ nutritional knowledge level. It aims to prevent young children from growing up eating nonnutritious foods that could lead to the development of certain diseases.

“They’re just so excited to see us, and many times they come up, and they give us a hug,” Marchio said. “I think they know that we’re there to provide a service for them and to help them.”

Marchio is working with the Student Nutrition Club at UNF to incorporate an on-campus Nourish to Flourish program for UNF students. He said that the UNF program would provide nutritional information and resources to the students who choose to participate. 

“There are probably a lot of students who may be food insecure, who we don’t even know about,” Marchio said. “Those are the ones we want to come to us and we want to help.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Richard Lewis Brown Elementary students raise their cups of homemade smoothies made through the Nourish to Flourish program. (Courtesy of Dr. Jamie Marchio)

Nutrition for all ages

Another program, Meals on Wings, is older adults in the community who don’t have direct access to high-quality foods but also don’t qualify for the Meals on Wheels program. The CNFS created Meals on Wings to fill that gap and provide for those who fall in between.

Meals on Wings takes leftover untouched meals from local hospitals that would be otherwise thrown out and repackages them to distribute to those in need.

UF Health and Saint Vincents are two hospitals that supply repurposed food to volunteer students. The volunteers take the food back to the kitchen at UNF’s Hicks Hall, repackage it into healthy meals and redistribute it back out into the community. 

“These hospitals offer and serve really good, healthy, nutritious meals,” Marchio said. “So why not take it, bring it back and repackage it for those who need it?”

Since its establishment, the Center for Nutrition and Food Security has distributed 150,000 meals to low-income communities in Duval County, according to Marchio. He said Meals on Wings has improved its recipients’ overall well-being and has reduced loneliness, while Nourish to Flourish has enhanced children’s exercise habits and reduced their intake of sweetened foods and beverages.

Marchio said the program’s efforts tie back to the priority of helping students directly here at UNF. 

“My biggest thing is for students to know it exists and have something to take advantage of,” Marchio said. “If we can’t help our own, then why are we spending so much of our resources out into the community?”

To participate in the Center for Nutrition and Food Security, contact Dr. Jamie Marchio at jamie.marchio@unf.edu and visit the CNFS website here.