Omaha Community Foundation • Omaha, NE

Omaha Community Foundation (OCF) In-person Meeting: Community Conversation on Food Security January 21 • Omaha, Nebraska

Attendees: Executive Director Dr. Amy Yaroch, Senior Research Scientist Dr. Courtney Parks, Project Manager Whitney Clausen, Research Associate Christina Ballu

Overview: The OCF project aims to inform strategies to help reduce the number of households experiencing food insecurity in the Omaha Metro, which includes Douglas and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska and Pottawattamie County in Iowa. Through collaboration, the CNHI team aims to gain a better understanding of the needs of populations experiencing food insecurity, identify gaps in service, and propose solutions to ultimately inform improved food and nutrition security of households.

Main takeaways and highlights: The CNHI team facilitated a collaborative session for partners, along with OCF and their two main funders in this area, Mutual of Omaha and Sherwood Foundation. During the session, attendees discussed activities their organizations lead to address food insecurity and related social determinants of health in the Omaha metro area. The group then discussed potential gaps in services, challenges their organizations face, and the role of data and evaluation in their work. Next steps will include interviews with representatives from community organizations working to address food insecurity in the Omaha metro to better understand their barriers, success stories, and potential gaps to inform future strategies.