Food Security Network
Increasing neighborhood access to food
Vision
We envision a reliable, interconnected food system in Sioux Falls-one where every neighborhood has access to fresh and rescued healthy food resources that allow people to thrive.
Mission
Reduce food waste and increase food access across Sioux Falls by creating a system for outreach and relationship-building that supports a centralized information hub.
Primary Goals:
Ask any teacher. Hungry kids don’t do well in the classroom. Even short-term food insecurity can cause behaviors that affect academic achievement, and ultimately impact high school graduation rates. That’s a direct connection to the cradle-to-career continuum that is Thrive’s focus. And it’s a big deal to the volunteers building a food security and healthy eating community network.
Feeding America estimates that 7,000 kids growing up in Sioux Falls live in households that struggle to put adequate food on the table.
Volunteers working in this network strive to align local charitable food resources and close hunger gaps. They’re also working with the Sioux Falls City Health Department to develop a community-wide Food Security and Healthy Eating Strategy.
Food Security and Healthy Eating Outcomes
Food Security and Healthy Eating Network volunteers collaborate on a variety of topics and celebrated several wins as results of their work during and after the pandemic:
- The Fall 2024 Gleaning Pilot tested the Food Security Network’s theories about truly reducing potential food waste and reducing the distance between local nutritious food producers and consumers. Volunteers accessed 203 pounds of produce and created four kinds of basic meal starters for distribution in the community. After this successful pilot, more partners were invited, including Bread Break and St. Francis House, to broaden the scope of the project, which has evolved to become Food Rescue 605, an initiative that the group plans to grow to involve more chefs, more volunteers, and even more rescued food.
- Garden Week 2024 represented the efforts of a variety of Thrive volunteers to focus on key goals: improved food accessibility and reduced food waste. Planning began in the winter, and volunteers formalized plans in March and April for May 2024 events.
- The Eat Well Sioux Falls Mobile Market put a grocery store on wheels in October 2023, thanks to a collaboration of churches, businesses, and non-profit organizations facilitated by Sioux Falls Thrive. The goal is to increase access to affordable food, particularly in neighborhoods without local grocery stores.
- Kid Link volunteers representing Sioux Falls Thrive collaborated with two local churches and Feeding South Dakota to establish a food pantry inside Terry Redlin Elementary School. Now, dozens of families pick up basic groceries at the same time they pick up their children after school.
- Thrive’s Kid Link Riverside served as the test case for Feeding South Dakota’s “get food to the people who need it” strategy. Two of Feeding South Dakota’s neighborhood distribution centers serve families of Laura B. Anderson Elementary School.
That’s a lot of progress. But food security network volunteers continue to work toward solutions that help ensure families in need — from all the diverse communities in Sioux Falls — find and reach the groceries and meals they need to keep their kids fed.
This report focuses on the Census tracts in Sioux Falls that meet the low access criteria at 1 mile from supermarkets. Using the alternative half‐mile criteria, an estimated 61,798 residents live in food desert tracts, and an estimated 38,002 people live more than a half mile from a supermarket. About 10,033 people in half‐mile food desert areas have incomes below poverty, a food desert area poverty rate of about 17.3% (compared to 10.1% citywide).
People with incomes below poverty are disproportionately likely to live in food deserts: an estimated 56.9% of people with incomes below poverty living in half-mile food desert areas (compared to 34.2% of the city population overall).
Accurate data is the driver behind Thrive’s work. To learn more about — and follow updates — Augustana Research Institute keeps tabs on three common data sources (among others). You can access the information below:
Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap estimates an overall food insecurity rate in Minnehaha County of 9.6%; among children, the estimated rate is 16.3%. The report is updated annually.
The Household Pulse Survey provides estimates of food scarcity in the United States and in South Dakota specifically. Data from late August-September of 2024 shows 8.4% food scarcity in South Dakota. Their measure of food scarcity is the percentage of adults in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last 7 days.
The US Department of Agriculture also publishes a food security report that uses data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement. Data averages for 2021-2023 show 9% food insecurity statewide in South Dakota.
Food Security and Healthy Eating Network Membership
Food Security and Healthy Eating Network members represent a variety of organizations across the community, including Church on the Street, SD Department of Health, Dakota Rural Action, Helpline Center, Feeding South Dakota, Faith Temple Food Giveaway, Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota Voices for Peace, Health Connect of South Dakota, Augustana University, The Banquet, Lutheran Social Services, United Way, Sanford Health, Avera Research, First United Methodist Church, Minnehaha County Master Gardeners, Wellmark, Helpline, GroundWorks Connect, SDSU Extension, Community Revitalization Collective, Cash Cow Co-op, South Dakota Specialty Producers Association, South Dakota Urban Indian Health, AARP, and the American Heart Association.
If you or your organization is interested in joining this effort, please contact Sioux Falls Thrive using the Contact Us button below.
What Are Thrive’s Action Teams?
Thrive Action Teams are key to achieving the organization’s mission to remove obstacles to student success and foster opportunities for all children, from cradle to career.
Action Teams use a collective impact approach to focus on creating systemic change in the conditions surrounding the educational system.
Success is achieved when an outcome or goal has been attained, with the result that either the cause of the obstacle is eliminated or that programs, policies, funding streams, and/or services are permanently altered, reducing the impact of the problem on a continuing basis.
Action Teams are comprised of individuals who:
- Represent a cross-section of business, government, nonprofit, education and faith-based communities.
- Have knowledge and experience to contribute to the ecosystem issue being addressed.
- Are willing to make a commitment to participate regularly in Action Team activities.
Action Team membership is generally around 15 people but participation levels ebb and flow with current needs and topics. Volunteer opportunities often become available as each team continuously evaluates its requirements for expertise and participation. Occasional opportunities arise for short-term task-oriented teams, as well. If you’re interested in working as a Thrive volunteer, contact us.