Impact of an innovative community-academic partnership connecting families facing food insecurity with a food pantry

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Food insecurity (FI) is an unmet health-related social need that affects child health. Our pediatric clinic partnered with a community food pantry, New York Common Pantry (NYCP), to provide emergency food onsite and facilitate referrals. We examined the impact of completing these referrals on household FI over 12 months. 

METHODS: We conducted a prospective study in a general pediatric practice that screens for FI using the Hunger Vital Sign™ tool. Families with children ages 0-10 years who spoke English or Spanish and experienced FI were enrolled. Caregivers completed the 18-item USDA Household Food Security Survey (HFSS), which scores FI from 0 (high food security) to 18 (very low food security) at baseline, 3 and 12 months, and self-reported pantry enrollment status at follow-ups. We examined the impact of pantry enrollment on food security with an adjusted mixed-effects linear regression, using HFSS score as a continuous variable. 

RESULTS: We enrolled 125 families; 66% children identified as Hispanic and 26% non-Hispanic Black; 93% had Medicaid insurance. Median baseline HFSS score was 4.0 (2.0, 6.5), considered "low food security." At baseline, 84 (67%) caregivers accepted NYCP referral; an additional 20 accepted referral over the study period. In adjusted mixed-effects models, households enrolled with NYCP at both 3 and 12 months had significantly lower (improved) HFSS scores at both 3 months (estimate -3.40, p=0.016) and 12 months (estimate -3.11, p=0.026) compared to those not enrolled. 

CONCLUSION: A community-academic partnership promoted enrollment in a food pantry and improved FI. Future research is needed to identify strategies to improve referral completion among families referred to food pantries by a pediatrician.