MITCHELL, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) In observance of Hunger Action Month, a new statewide collaborative launched last week to address food insecurity in South Dakota. Nearly 14 percent of U-S households struggled getting food last year, according to new U-S Department of Agriculture data. That includes over 100-thousand South Dakotans, says Timothy Meagher, who’s on the steering committee for the South Dakota Healthy Nutrition Collaborative. Its members are looking to tackle food insecurity by integrating a network of resources – from healthcare groups and universities to community foundations and food producers. Meagher says the group aims to “align resources to actions.”

   “Because we believe we can improve nutrition, decrease the disease and provide every South Dakota citizen with an opportunity to be the best version of themselves.”

Nutritious diets can help prevent cancer and heart disease, which are the two leading causes of death in the state, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.

Along with the new national data, the U-S-D-A Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement that the high rate of food insecurity is “a direct outcome of Congressional actions,” including blocking the expansion of the Child Tax Credit and restricting access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.