Going Beyond Screen and Refer: Effective Nutrition Interventions in Healthcare Settings

Jessica KejrHarvesters—The Community Food Network

Graphic: Collective Impact and Community Change, Feeding America, 2018.

Impact to Family Wellness and Stability

Graphic: Feeding America, 2018.

Nutrition Interventions in Healthcare

• Emerging, strategic partnerships

• Multiple entry points with various levels of intervention:

• Screen and intervene • SNAP outreach• Kids Café• Prescriptive pantries• Diabetes interventions• Pop-up produce distributions

• Patients screen positive if they answer “often true” or “sometimes true” for either or both statements.

• Document and code for administration and results of screening in medical records.

Screen and Refer

Hunger Vital Signs – validated screening questions

“Within the past 12 months, we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.”

“Within the past 12 months, the food we bought didn’t last and we didn’t have money to buy more.”

SNAP Outreach

• Connect people with resources to access healthy, nutritious food for their families

• Assist with questions and applications

• Train and equip agencies

Kids’ Café

• Shelf-stable meals and milk

• Available for every child 18 and younger

• Produce distributions with well-child visits or immunization fairs

Samuel Rodgers Health Center

Samuel Rodgers Health Center

• Client choice shopping list

• Diabetic-friendly and culturally appropriate

• Whole grains

• Lean protein

• Low/no sodium

• Low/no sugar added

• Healthy cooking oils and spices

• Recipes and food prep tips

Healthy Pantry Staples Kits

Pop-up Produce Distributions

Pop-up Produce Distributions

“Making the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Health and Healthcare at Agencies

• Nutrition Nudges:• Placement,

grouping, tags• Recipes and Demos• Health Screenings

and Classes

Health and Healthcare at Agencies

• Research School of Nursing at Morning Glory Café

Health and Healthcare at Agencies

• What type of activity are you doing in this realm?

• What did you consider when you started this program/intervention?

• What type of outcomes are you observing? What are your anticipated outcomes?

• Opportunities and Challenges

Promising Practices from the Field

Resources

Harvesters—The Community Food Network: www.harvesters.org

Feeding America: www.feedingamerica.org

Cost of Food Insecurity Calculator (Health Care Foundation of Greater KC): www.costoffoodinsecurity.com

Resources

• Feeding America: www.feedingamerica.org• Tool: Map the Meal Gap

• Report: Health Implications of Food Insecurity

• Tool: Healthcare Costs of Food Insecurity

• Hunger and Health: www.hungerandhealth.org• Research, case studies, infographics, guides for partnerships

• Food Research and Action Center: www.frac.org• FRAC: Hunger and Health

• Toolkit for Pediatricians (AAP)

• Research and Infographics

Thank you!

Jessica Kejr - Director of Programs and Client Collaboration Initiatives

jkejr@harvesters.org