Increase Food Access Research Articles

Risk Factors for Food Insecurity among Early Childhood Education Providers: Time for a Solution.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges in the child care industry, leading to closures and financial strain. Early care and education (ECE) providers faced reduced income, increased debt, and material hardships such as food insecurity. Using survey data collected through the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), this study examines the association between food insecurity risk, sociodemographic factors, and pandemic-related service changes among ECE providers in California. The results showed that income, race, and increased food costs were significantly associated with a higher risk of food insecurity among ECE providers. Compared to incomes greater than USD 60,000, those earning USD 40,000-USD 49,999 and USD 50,000-USD 59,999 had higher odds of food insecurity (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 0.683-1.86; OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.623-1.81, respectively). Black (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.21-2.94) and multi-racial respondents (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.1-2.65) had higher odds of food insecurity than white respondents. Lastly, respondents experiencing increased food costs had greater odds of food insecurity (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 2.74-7.45). These findings suggest the need for policies and interventions aimed at increasing food access among vulnerable ECE providers. Such interventions will better protect them from financial shocks and the risk of food insecurity, and will support their crucial role in healthy child growth and development.

Improving staff wellness via an after-hours healthy sustainable meals program: A general surgery residency pilot.

Healthcare worker wellness is foundational to delivering quality care. Yet, healthcare facilities often lack access to healthy and sustainable food overnight and on weekends. Healthy, low-carbon meals were provided free of charge after hours to on-call General Surgery residents at the University of British Columbia and the impact on resident well-being assessed using pre- and post-intervention surveys. Financial and time stress reduced significantly with the provision of meals (P's < .01), while emotional and physical stress levels did not change. Average meal expenses decreased from $33 to $10 (P < .001). Increasing food access on call is an impactful intervention to improve resident health and well-being.

DETERMINAN AKSESIBILITAS PANGAN DI SUMATERA: Pendekatan Simulasi Kebijakan

The main objective of this research is to analyse the impact of government spending, especially social assistance and the food security budget, on food accessibility in Sumatra. This research uses secondary time series data for the 2010-2019 period. The cross section data consists of 10 provinces, namely, Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau Islands, Riau, Bengkulu, Jambi, Lampung and Bangka Belitung. The research data source was obtained from the Food Security Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic. This research uses a system of simultaneous equations including 5 equations, consisting of 3 structural equations and 2 identity equations. Simultaneous equation regression results for food accessibility show that increasing consumption of rice and corn can reduce the prevalence of inadequate food consumption in Sumatra. On the other hand, the increase in the prevalence of inadequate food consumption was caused by an increase in malnutrition and an increase in the prevalence of inadequate food consumption in year t-1. The research results also show that an increase in the prevalence of inadequate food consumption in year t-1, an increase in the percentage of the population with malnutrition and an increase in poverty in year t-1 have an effect on increasing poverty. The increase in regional economic growth in the food crop sub-sector (increased food accessibility) is driven from the production, consumption side and the influence of the increase in regional economic growth in the food crop sub-sector in previous years (t-1). The simulation results show that social assistance and the government's food security budget contribute to increasing regional macroeconomic variables such as regional economic growth in the food crop sub-sector, per capita income and AHK's gross regional domestic product.

DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY KITCHENS AND TRAUMA HEALING FOR SARAMPAT VILLAGE REFUGEE POST CIANJUR EARTHQUAKE

Earthquakes can disturb food access in the affected area that can lead to increase food insecurity and malnutrition. Community kitchen is one of programs to maintain refugee nutritional status by community empowerment and increase food access. This community service was aim to develop and manage community kitchen for Sarampat Village Refugee Post Cianjur Earthquake. Some activities was done including preparation, construction, organizing of community kitchen, trauma healing, and at the end, handover community kitchen management to refugees. A total 190 refugees live in temporary settlements. In the second day, refugees’s breakfast, lunch, dinner was made in the community kitchen. Trauma healing for children in the temporary settlement was also conducted to recover from post-earthquake trauma. Education to manage the kitchen, Kitchen utensil, and Balance nutrition menu for 7 days was given for the refugee in the last day. Some obstacles were faced during the implementation relate to food supply. Overall, all the activities had been done well and can be implemented for similar conditions.

Spatial and temporal niche overlap of aardwolves and aardvarks in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Species interactions can influence species distributions, but mechanisms mitigating competition or facilitating positive interactions between ecologically similar species are often poorly understood. Aardwolves (Proteles cristata) and aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are nocturnal, insectivorous mammals that co-occur in eastern and southern Africa, and knowledge of these species is largely limited to their nutritional biology. We used aardwolf and aardvark detections from 105 remote cameras during 2016-2018 to assess their spatial and temporal niche overlap in the grasslands of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Using a multispecies occupancy model, we identified a positive interaction between occupancy probabilities for aardwolves and aardvarks. Slope, proportion of grassland and termite mound density did not affect the occupancy probabilities of either species. The probability of aardwolf, but not aardvark, occupancy increased with distance to permanent water sources, which may relate to predation risk avoidance. Diel activity overlap between aardwolves and aardvarks was high during wet and dry seasons, with both species being largely nocturnal. Aardwolves and aardvarks have an important ecological role as termite consumers, and aardvarks are suggested to be ecosystem engineers. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the spatial and temporal niche of insectivores like aardwolves and aardvarks, suggesting high spatial and temporal niche overlap in which commensalism occurs, whereby aardwolves benefit from aardvark presence through increased food accessibility.

A scoping review of the impact of Food Policy Groups on local food systems in high-income countries.

This scoping review aimed to explore international evidence on the impact of Food Policy Groups (FPGs) on local food systems, in urban and rural regions of high-income countries. Peer-reviewed and grey literature were searched to identify 31 documents published between 2002 and 2022 providing evidence on the impact of FPGs. Activities spanned domains including increasing food equity (e.g. strengthening school meals programs); increasing knowledge and/or demand for healthy food (e.g. food literacy programs with children and adults); increasing food access (e.g. enhancing local food procurement); environmental sustainability (e.g. promoting low-waste food items on café menus); economic development (e.g. ensuring local businesses are not outperformed by large food distributors), and increasing food system resiliency (e.g. establishment of local produce schemes). Most FPGs reported conducting activities that positively influenced multiple food system domains and reported activities in urban areas, and to a lesser extent in rural areas. Our study highlighted a range of qualitative and quantitative evaluation strategies used to measure FPGs' impact on local food systems. Our recommendations focus on regular and systematic evaluation and research surrounding the impact of FPGs activities, to build the evidence base of their impact. Ideally, evaluation would utilise comprehensive, and established tools. We recommend exploring the establishment of FPGs across more regions of high-income countries, particularly rural areas; and forming partnerships between FPGs, local government and universities to maximise implementation and evaluation of activities.

FOOD HUBS AS TOOL FOR DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GASTRONOMY: THE CASE STUDY OF DUBROVNIK

As the planning profession begins to embrace food and agriculture as important opportunities for sustainable cities and towns, planners are searching for ideas that can be implemented at the local level. Food hubs are gaining popularity as a way to build strong local food systems and healthy communities. Food hubs are innovations in local food systems that serve as an alternative to the conventional food distribution system. Hubs help connect small farmers with local markets and increase food access for local residents. But it is clearly that focusing on the local cuisine as a tourist destination product is worthwhile. Food hub operators are skilled business people who have identified a challenge how to satisfy retail and institutional market demand to source from small and middle size producers and have deftly come up with regionally appropriate solutions that not only result in positive economic outcomes but also provide valuable services to producers and their wider community. Food hub operators represent a new kind of food entrepreneur, one that is increasingly demonstrating a financially sound business model that can be both market and mission driven. This paper examines the importance of the establishment of a food hub for the development of entrepreneurship and innovation in gastronomy, i.e. for the development of the gastronomic offer in Dubrovnik. The survey was conducted in June 2022 among 93 graduates of the School of Tourism and Hospitality to find out their opinion about the establishment of a food hub and whether they are inclined to become its users. Research has proven that most graduates would use food hub services and as such they are necessary for business creation and innovation in the food service industry.

Evaluation of the Olo Prenatal Nutrition Follow-up Care for Vulnerable Pregnant Women.

Olo nutritional follow-up care offers vulnerable pregnant women food vouchers, multivitamin supplements, tools, and nutritional counselling to support healthy pregnancy outcomes.Purpose: To evaluate the contribution of Olo follow-up care to nutritional intakes and eating practices, as well as to assess the programme-related experience of participants.Methods: Participants (n = 30) responded to questionnaires and web-based 24-hour dietary recalls and participated in a semi-structured interview (n = 10).Results: Olo follow-up care reduced the proportion of participants below the recommended intake for groups for many micronutrients, with the greatest reduction for folate (by 96.7%), vitamin D (by 93.3%), iron (by 70.0%), calcium (by 50.0%), and zinc (by 30.0%), mainly due to the prenatal multivitamin supplements. Most participants (96.7%) did not follow Olo's typical recommendations but, if they had, hypothetically they would have consumed an average of 746 additional calories per day and be above the recommendations for excessive intakes of folic acid and iron (100% and 33.3%, respectively). More than half of the participants were moderately to severely food insecure. Olo contributed to reducing the impact of isolation and increased food accessibility and budget flexibility among participants.Conclusion: Olo follow-up care helped reduce the proportion of women below the recommended intake for micronutrients, but revising the food offered and strategies to address food insecurity may be necessary.

Ending Hunger: How COVID-19 Revealed a Path to Food Access for All

This article explores how a devastating hunger crisis, which seemed destined to accompany the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, was thwarted by historic federal emergency food policy interventions. We outline the vital public policy innovations in food access launched during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the nonprofit emergency food network programs designed to implement and accompany these policies. In particular, we focus on innovations that addressed hunger for two vulnerable groups, children and the elderly, and we describe how these innovations increased food access. Finally, we advocate for the continuation of COVID-19 anti-hunger pandemic policies in the “next normal” because they reveal a path to end hunger that preserves people’s dignity and provides healthy and affordable food access for all.

Food Insecurity Among Older Adults with a History of Incarceration.

We examined the association between history of incarceration (HOI) and food insecurity (FI) among older adults using pooled data from 12,702 respondents aged 51+ who participated in the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. In our sample, 12.8% of participants reported FI. Those with a HOI had an increased odds of FI (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.52-2.21). Race/ethnicity moderated the association between HOI and FI. The positive and statistically significant association was concentrated among Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White participants. No statistically significant association was found among Hispanic participants or among those from other racial/ethnic groups. Income, depressive symptoms, and functional limitations mediated the association between HOI and FI, with the largest indirect effects observed for income. FI is an important issue among older adults with a HOI. Programs and policy initiatives to increase food access and/or improve earnings in this population may be needed.

Increasing Surplus Food Redistribution to Improve Food Access Through a Partnership Between Public Health and a Technology-Based Company.

Redistributing surplus food that would otherwise be discarded represents a viable strategy both for increasing food access and for addressing climate change. This study describes a public-private partnership that scaled such an effort in Los Angeles County. Public health worked with a technology-based company to introduce a mobile app that connected various traditional (e.g., food pantries) and non-traditional (e.g., businesses with surplus food, food rescue organizations, community-based organizations that work in low-income communities) organizations with a countywide surplus food redistribution process. In 11 months, 50 food businesses participated, a total of 43,900 pounds of food were recovered, and surplus food was delivered to 34 community sites, serving 28,400 meals. Lessons from the experience suggest that mobile app use was a key component of the redistribution effort, and that diverting food waste while increasing food access, with a priority towards obtaining food of high nutritional value, was both feasible and practical. It has previously been shown that reducing food loss and waste by at least 50% in the food service sector could help reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Crop diversification and farm household food and nutrition security in Northern Ghana.

Farm households in Africa adopt resource allocation tools such as crop diversification to minimize risk exposure and safeguard their food and nutrition security. This study uses primary data and an ordered probit model to examine how crop diversification impacts the food security outcomes of rural farmers in northern Ghana. The findings revealed that along with other factors like access to extension services and use of soil fertility management practices, crop diversification increased food access and reduced the food insecurity experience of households. As a result, policies targeted at improving the food and nutrition security of peasant households should promote adoption of diversified crop production and use of sustainable soil management practices like composting.

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mobile Produce Market Operations: Adaptations, Barriers, and Future Directions for Increasing Food Access.

Background: Mobile produce markets were increasingly recognized as an effective and accepted approach to improving access to fruits and vegetables in lower-income and at-risk communities during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. This study provides insights into how mobile market operations were impacted by, and evolved in response to, challenges posed by the pandemic. Methods: A survey evaluating impacts of the pandemic on mobile markets was distributed to a database of mobile market operators in the United States. Respondents were asked to describe impacts to their mobile market’s operations, and what adaptations were needed to continue to effectively serve their communities during 2020. Results: Surveys representing 48 unique mobile markets were collected from March to July 2021. Of the respondents, 63% reported an increase in demand for mobile market services from community members. Furthermore, 65% increased the amount of produce they distributed in 2020 as compared to 2019, often through adopting low or no-cost models or participating in pandemic government programs. Discussion: Emergency adaptations employed by mobile markets can inform long-term operational modifications for not only mobile markets, but also other food access programs, beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Feed1st, No Questions Asked: How a Hospital-Based Food Pantry Program Grew Its Impact During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Feed1st, a no-questions-asked, self-serve food pantry program at a Chicago, Illinois, medical center, increased its impact during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding five new pantries and distributing 124% more food in March 2020 to November 2021 (42 970 pounds or 36 000 meals) than in the same period of 2018 to 2019 (19 220 pounds or 16 000 meals). Of 11 locations, distribution was highest in a phlebotomy waiting area and a cafeteria pantry. The community-engaged model enabled Feed1st to increase food access for patients, caregivers, and workers during the pandemic. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(10):1394-1398. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306984).

P041 Higher Education Students’ Perspectives on Using an Urban On-campus Food Pantry During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study

<h3>Background</h3> The rate of food insecurity (FI) in those pursuing higher education is three times higher than the national average. Many institutions have established food pantry (FP) programs in response to widespread campus FI. The pandemic has amplified financial stress for students and has altered many on-campus policies. Little is known about higher education students' use of food pantries during COVID-19. <h3>Objective</h3> To explore the motivators and barriers that influence higher education students' use of FPs during COVID-19. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> Eighteen unmarried/single undergraduate and graduate students at a private university in New York City who used an on-campus FP were interviewed by using a semi-structured script from April to October 2021. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Taking an inductive approach, audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and coded using NVivo v12. Four researchers collaboratively developed the codebook and used thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes. <h3>Results</h3> While FP use was initially motivated by financial incentives and pre-pandemic FP experience, these motivations were reinforced by positive interactions with volunteers, satisfaction with food items, and COVID-19 safety protocols. However, students encountered several barriers that limited FP use, including eligibility concerns, logistical and communication issues, and lack of food variety. In addition, feelings of stigma, level of FI awareness, and familiarity with the US food system were major determinants of FP use. Notably, students with pre-pandemic FP experience identified assistance more quickly, expressed more complex feelings, and demonstrated a deeper understanding of FI than novice FP users. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The motivators and barriers of FP use during COVID-19 were influenced by students' pre-pandemic experiences with FI. This study reveals that the on-campus FP requires systemic support to reduce FI stigma and increase food access. Furthermore, these findings indicate the need for more holistic institutional and governmental support for FI in higher education. <h3>Funding</h3> None

Land manager decision-making practices when establishing public fruit-bearing plants in Hennepin county municipalities, Minnesota

Increasingly, public land managers face decisions about using fruit-bearing perennial plants (including fruiting trees, shrubs, and vines) on public lands. While public trees provide many positive ecological, economic, and community health benefits, fruit-bearing perennials provide similar benefits and more. Expanded benefits include enhanced pollinator habitat, increased food access, unique educational opportunities, and ways for residents to interact more deeply with public vegetation. Despite the benefits of fruit-bearing perennials, their use and incorporation into public spaces vary among cities, resulting in an uneven and often inequitable distribution of public services. This study aims to better understand public land managers’ decision-making processes by exploring what factors are considered when deciding to plant, or not plant, fruit-bearing perennial vegetation. Specifically, interviewees (n = 12) described what they perceive as the most significant benefits and barriers to establishing fruit-bearing perennials in public spaces. Respondents reported using fruit-bearing perennials to augment species diversity, community engagement, wildlife habitat, and public education. Barriers cited included limited time and financial resources for management, lack of specialized training, fears associated with liability, limited public awareness, and competing urban forestry goals. This study contributes to the literature on public land manager decision-making which has not previously focused specifically on fruit-bearing perennials. The findings inform vegetation decision-making and urban natural resource planning by outlining key risks and rewards of adopting fruit-bearing perennials.

Change is inevitable, but is gentrification?

A Recipe for Gentrification is a masterful explora­tion of the complex relationship between intent and impact at the intersection of alternative food systems and urban development. The goal of this edited volume is to unpack the ways in which food systems can both drive and resist gentrifica­tion. The introduction lays out the many nuanced drivers of both processes. For instance, well-intentioned efforts to increase food access in a neighborhood can be an early initiator of gentrification. And urban agriculture and public green spaces are frequently co-opted for develop­ment efforts. At its best, food empowers a strong cultural sense of self and fuels efforts for sover­eignty in marginalized communities. This volume aids in exploring these entangled effects through what may be simplified as a study of impact vs. intent.

Factors Influencing the Consumer Purchase Decision Process for Packaged Rice Products in the Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia: Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development

Abstract Rice is a strategic commodity in the Yogyakarta Special Region because it is a staple food product. The Government of the Yogyakarta Special Region has committed to realizing food security by implementing the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) with the aim of ending hunger and increasing food access. Food security of a region is seen from availability, accessibility, security and sustainability. Purchasing decisions are influenced by external and internal factors that continue to change along with changing conditions so that safe and sustainable food supply is needed. The objective of this study is to determine the factors that influence the consumer purchasing decision process for packaged rice in the Yogyakarta Special Region. The method used to analyze the consumer purchasing decision process for packaged rice products in the Yogyakarta Special Region was likert scale assessment followed by factor analysis. The consumer purchasing decision process for packaged rice went through five stages, which were the introduction of needs, information collection, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions, and post-purchase. Based on the results of factor analysis, obtained four new factors which influence the decision to purchase packaged rice. The first factor is the service and accessibility factor. The second factor is the price factor and product attributes. The third factor is the internal factors of consumers and products. The fourth factor is the product promotion.

Comprando Rico y Sano: Increasing Latino Nutrition Knowledge, Healthful Diets, and Food Access Through a National Community-Based Intervention.

Evaluation findings from Comprando Rico y Sano (CRS), a culturally relevant, community-based intervention addressing nutrition knowledge and food access are presented. No-control quasi-experimental intervention with pre, post, and follow-up assessments. CRS was promotores-led through UnidosUS's Affiliate Network of community-based partners. Low-income Latino adults (N = 966) receiving services at 25 partner sites. CRS was a six-hour intervention focused on nutrition knowledge and consumption of fruits, vegetables, and home-prepared meals. It also provided guidance for health-conscious grocery shopping, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) information, and enrollment assistance. Self-report surveys assessed nutrition knowledge; intention to change; and frequency of fruit, vegetable, and home-prepared meal consumption. Sites reported monthly SNAP enrollment data. Paired-samples t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVAs assessed changes in knowledge, intentions, and behavior from pre-to-post (n = 960) and pre-to-follow-up (n = 115). Pre-to-follow-up increases in nutrition knowledge (P < .001) were observed. Intention to consume more vegetables (P = .027) and home-prepared meals (P < .001) also improved between pre- and follow-up. Increases from pre-to-follow-up were observed for frequency of consuming fruits (P = .007), vegetables (P = .001), and home-prepared meals (P < .001). Across 16 months, 24,359 Latinos enrolled for SNAP. Large-scale community collaborations to deliver culturally relevant nutrition education and SNAP enrollment assistance can increase food access, health literacy, and promote healthful diets for Latinos.

Modeling urban systems: Comparing the efficacy of simulated interventions on the urban food environment

• Food access metrics using more than store proximity lead to tailored food access interventions. • Modeling disruptors on the food system inexpensively tests out food access solutions. • Interventions in different case study regions have distinct effects. • Further work needed on interplay between choices of where to shop and how to travel. Inequitable access to food has negative effects on the health and quality of life of urban residents, especially in regions known as Food Deserts (FDs). Interventions to increase food access are inconsistently effective when applied to different regions in the U.S. This work seeks to answer two research questions: (1) can differences in interventions efficacy be explained by local demographic factors and geographies?; and (2) can multi-dimensional metrics be used to isolate what demographic factors drive food inaccessibility? Results indicate that the efficacy of interventions does depend on local demographic factors and infrastructure, especially bus service. Additionally, demographic factors can act either to increase or impede food access. After distance to the store, the presence of a child under 5 in the household was the most significant limiting factor to accessing healthy food. Conversely, a household size exceeding 4 members had the greatest positive impact on food access. These results show how the combination of simulation modeling and multi-dimensional metrics can inform decision makers about what demographic factors drive inaccessibility, and the interventions that would be most effective and sustainable.