From food banks to grants, east Idaho coalition takes aim at hunger
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POCATELLO – Jenifer Reader is on a mission to combat hunger in eastern Idaho.
The family consumer sciences educator at the University of Idaho Extension in Bannock County is the founder of the Eastern Idaho Food Security Coalition. It’s a collaborative effort with the Idaho Food Bank to connect educators, dietitians and food distributors to improve community food security, resource knowledge and education.
“It’s bringing together people who care about food security in eastern Idaho to work on projects together,” Reader tells EastIdahoNews.com.
It also helps fund grants for those seeking to strengthen food security in their communities.
Food safety and nutrition are Reader’s areas of expertise. She’s working on a dissertation about how institutions respond to food insecurity, and this coalition is a natural extension of that research project.
Before coming to U of I, Reader worked at Idaho State University for 11 years and started a similar coalition.
“Just experiencing coalition-building, program planning — I really like those kinds of things and bringing people together,” Reader says. “Knowing there’s no coalition (addressing food insecurity) on this side of the state, I wanted to expand.”
Reader’s interest in food security stems back to her years as an undergraduate student in ISU’s dietetics program. During that time, she was a regular volunteer at the Idaho Foodbank.
It’s a tradition she continues today with her kids.
“I also arranged opportunities for students to volunteer when I was a faculty member at ISU,” says Reader. “I serve on state food security organizations, and I have published grant-funded research about food insecurity among Division I collegiate student-athletes. I feel passionately about helping support hunger (needs), and I also enjoy coalition building and program planning.”
RELATED | Changes to Idaho SNAP food program coming in 2026
Reader says recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, were another thing that inspired her to start the coalition.
“Food pantries and other groups who were relying on that are kind of discouraged. If we have a coalition of people who care about the same things, it’s morale-building, and there’s opportunity for sharing resources and knowledge,” says Reader.
Reader says she’s excited to work with elected officials, farmers and others to provide needed resources. Those interested in learning more can reach out via foodsecurity@uidaho.edu.
Ag at-a-glance
U of I hosting Idaho potato industry tour for graduate students
IDAHO FALLS — Graduate students with the University of Idaho’s department of plant sciences are taking a tour of the Gem State’s potato industry.
Professors Nora Olsen and Gustavo Henrique de Almeida Teixeira are leading it. The three-day event got underway Tuesday morning in the Boise area. It started in Eagle at the Idaho Potato Commission and included stops at Gross Farms in Wilder, U of I’s Research and Extension Center in Parma and Simplot Plant Sciences in Boise. Simplot Plant Sciences is the research and development division of the J.R. Simplot company.
Tuesday’s tour ended at Flying H Farms in Mountain Home.
On Wednesday, the group will start at Lamb Weston in Twin Falls and make its way to the university’s extension office in Aberdeen. They’re also scheduled to make a stop at Spudnik in Blackfoot and Wada Farms in Idaho Falls.
The group will spend Thursday morning at Atchley’s Flying A Farms in Ashton and the Idaho Crop Improvement Association in Idaho Falls, which is the state’s seed certifying agency.
EastIdahoNews.com is planning to attend portions of the tour, which will be covered in future stories.
Major uptick in Bannock County’s 4-H program
POCATELLO — The Bannock County 4-H program is seeing a huge increase in participation.
John O’Connell, a spokesman for U of I’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, tells EastIdahoNews.com the program has quadrupled in size over the last several years.
There are 34 cattle projects this year, which is an increase of about half a dozen since 2023. It’s also grown from fewer than 20 hog projects to more than 90 in 2026, and they’re quickly running out of space.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Nikki Dalton, who oversees the youth 4-H program in Bannock County, for a more in-depth story.
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