Reducing Food Insecurity with Meat

Our Mission: To reduce food insecurity and improve health by providing, animal-based foods, nutrition education, and social connections to the local community and throughout the United States.

The Protein Project will work directly with food pantries across the United States to assist them in procuring high-quality animal-based foods (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) Our first fundraiser will be focused on procuring turkeys for those in need during the holidays.

***Please read the following paragraphs to learn more about protein and its importance in human health. Animal protein changed our lives, and we want to give back! Please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments or suggestions.

Currently, only 7% of the world is metabolically healthy. Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease are increasing exponentially. Depression is the #1 cause of disability worldwide! What's going on, and what can we do about it?

When people are food insecure, they often depend on emergency food boxes, donations from local food banks, and services like “Meals on Wheels.” While all these services are genuine in their desire to provide nutrition, they often offer highly processed, calorie-dense meals that are very poor in high-quality protein.

Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body. It is necessary not just for locomotion, movement, and exercise; it acts as our metabolic currency.

To have good health, you need healthy muscles. The amount and quantity of protein we consume are especially important as we grow, develop, and age. Sarcopenia, or “muscle wasting,” is a silent epidemic in our elderly population. As we lose muscle mass and replace high-quality animal protein with carbohydrates, we are significantly more likely to suffer from diseases such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes and experience an overall poor quality of life.

It is not unusual for individuals and families dealing with food insecurity to buy cheap (often processed) carbohydrates in bulk and subsist off foods such as cereals, pasta, rice, beans, snack foods (cookies, crackers, chips), and bread. Over time the overconsumption of these foods can have negative health consequences, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

In addition, it is my opinion that processed food companies exploit those who are food insecure. Processed foods are inexpensive and engineered to be incredibly easy to overconsume.

We believe that animal protein is an essential component of the human diet. By removing barriers and getting high-quality animal foods to those in need, we seek to reduce food insecurity and improve physical and mental health.

Gratefully:

Michelle Hurn RD LD

Ede Fox

Lilah Fischer