HER Guidelines:
Healthy Eating Research
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What are HER Guidelines?
HER stands for Healthy Eating Research, a system designed to promote evidence-based recommendations regarding nutrition within the charitable food system.
The goal is to make nutritious food choices more accessible to those who utilize food pantries and reduce their risk of chronic illnesses related to diet.
HER Guidelines categorize foods into 11 groups based on their nutritional content.Food is labeled with one of three colors:
- Green: Choose often
- Yellow: Choose Sometimes
- Red: Choose rarely
Color coding is based on the amount of saturated fat,
added sugar, and sodium.
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Nutrition's Relationship to Disease Within the Charitable Food System
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Our Healthy Eating Research Ranking Graph offers valuable insights into the nutritional quality of items in our foodbank inventory. According to the latest data, 19% of inventory is choose rarely, 39% choose sometimes, and 42% choose often, with greater than 80% of our inventory ranked. These choices are ranked based on crucial nutritional factors such as sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar content. This graph serves as a tool for us to continually assess and improve the nutritional quality of the items we provide to better support the health and well-being of those we serve.
The food groups covered in these guidelines include fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, protein, non-dairy alternatives, beverages, processed and packaged snacks, mixed dishes, and desserts.
To support our neighbors' health and well-being, Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank will limit the amount of Choose rarely foods purchased to less than 40% of our total purchased, USDA products and ranked items.
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Implementing
HER Guidelines
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5 Reasons to Consider Using HER Guidelines
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1. Protecting Health
Studies show those dependent on food pantries have a higher risk of diet-related diseases. 58% of pantry users have hypertension. This highlights the importance of making healthy food choices.
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2. Local Health Concerns
In Vigo County, the death rate related to heart disease exceeds the state average by 23%. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Indiana, improving diets is crucial.
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3. Tackle Chronic Disease
Excessive saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium in highly processed foods contribute to various chronic diseases. Often, foods available at pantries are not nutrition conscious.
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4. Healthy Food Accessibility
Vigo County has one of the lowest scores in Indiana (5.7 out of 10) for healthy food accessibility in part due to limited access and high rates of food insecurity.
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5. Ensuring Consistancy
Multiple ranking systems leads to confusion. Adopting the HER Guidelines for all partner agencies ensures uniformity and helps patrons make healthier choices.
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