Despite escalating disaster frequency and severity, guidance for addressing emergency food and nutrition needs is limited. However, existing literature offers insights on how to effectively address emergency food and nutrition assistance. A recent issued by the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) in the , states that for effective recovery from and resilience to disasters, it is essential that impacted individuals and communities have access to safe, nutritious, and culturally and contextually appropriate foods and beverages, and receive emergency-related food and nutrition education before, during, and after a disaster.
Lead author Sheila Fleischhacker, Ph.D., JD, RDN, Georgetown University, explained, " Disasters limit the ability of survivors to access sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods and beverages.
These challenges are even more problematic for communities that face inequitable access to retail food outlets and safe drinking water before a disaster. Even if a retail food outlet is accessible, culturally and contextually appropriate foods and beverages might not be available or affordable." The position paper extensively drew from a diverse array of resources, incorporating , studies, and other relevant materials concerning disaster relief programs and their effectiveness.
These sources provided comprehensive insights into various aspects of disaster response and recovery efforts, including but not limited to the assessment of existing relief initiati.
