Editor’s Note: Dr. Rebecca Hu (she/her/hers) is a resident physician in pediatrics at the University of Virginia. She is interested in medical education, health equity, and a career in critical care medicine. -Rachel Y. Moon, MD, Associate Editor, Digital Media, Pediatrics
Food insecurity and hunger affects 1 in 6 children in the US, and it can significantly impact the physical and socioemotional trajectory of a child’s life, in addition to common conditions such as ADHD and obesity. There can be an intense stigma and, as discussed in a previous blog post, being perceived as being food insecure can increase discrimination for patients and families that are already in minority groups.
In a new Advocacy Case Study being early released in Pediatrics this week, entitled “Community-Led Interventions to Address Food Inequity" (10.1542/peds.2023-063116), Dr. Michelle Gorecki from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and colleagues from the System to Achieve Food Equity Learning Network discussed how they created effective community-academic partnerships to take a big bite out of food insecurity.
The researchers identified 3 Cincinnati neighborhoods with historic underinvestment and high rates of families living below the federal poverty level. The researchers then created neighborhood leadership councils (community leaders + a stewardship team) that decided on 9 community-led interventions, such as community gardens and food delivery programs, which ultimately served thousands of families. Funding for these interventions through the partnership came from a grant from The Zero Hunger Zero Waste Foundation, though, of note, some of the interventions also had other sources of funding.
Key takeaways for success in their model, which I think are generalizable to all community-academic partnerships, included distributed leadership (community designed and led), community engagement and support, and word of mouth. Challenges included zoning issues, adapting to cyclical monthly needs, and gun violence decreasing participation in the community garden.
Of the interventions, 2 that stood out to me were:
- A community designed and operated grocery store that also provided necessary cooking tools to families who did not have them.
- A program that gave children crockpots after teaching them how to make easy crockpot meals.
Getting access to fresh, healthy food is a crucial first step, but I think looking forward and empowering children and families to develop their culinary skills with healthy ingredients is and will be pivotal to sustaining positive change. I encourage everyone to read this article, as it has some great ideas that can be used in other communities. Penne for your thoughts?
