Funded Projects

Addressing Food-Insecurity: Improving Health Food Access

Project Year

2024

City & State

Miami, Florida

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Urban Health

Program Description

The Problem: Food Insecurity and Food Desert in the 33136 zip code, lack of nutrition literacy  Primary Setting: Urban environment, near Jackson Memorial Hospital Main Campus, Miami, FL 33136  Number of Children Affected: 18.9% of children in South Florida are food insecure, leaving 236,270 children going to bed hungry  Proposed Invention: A ‘linkage’ program that aids in connecting families to health food by connecting them to local food banks, farmer’s markets, and food pantries where they can receive health food free of charge or at a low cost. Every member of the program would also join a short nutrition course where they will receive nutrition education and an easy reference pamphlet (child and adult version) and refrigerator magnet to have easily accessible take-aways to help guide healthy eating habits at home.  A pre- and post-test to evaluate nutrition literacy or parents and children along with and four parental surveys will be collected throughout the year to evaluate food access, daily health food intake, and growth and health metrics of the children involved.  Eventually we would like to develop an on-site food pantry on the medical campus with food supplied through the local food banks, farmers and an on-site community garden where families can pick up health foods after their medical appointments.  Anticipated outcomes: Children and families reporting increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, reduced obesity, reduced cholesterol (in patients with hyperlipidemia), reduced HbA1C (in patients with pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes), and increased nutrition/health literacy.  Project Goal: Reduce food insecurity by improving health food access, improve health and nutrition literacy and improve the health of the food-insecure families we serve.    

Project Goal

Reduce food insecurity by improving health food access, improve health and nutrition literacy and improve the health of the food-insecure families we serve.  

Project Objective 1

Improve health food access to food-insecure families by partnering with local and easily accessible community partners who provide health food free of charge or with a pre-paid voucher system.

Project Objective 2

Improve nutrition literacy by providing a four-part nutrition course that is concise, relevant and easily applicable with associated pamphlets highlighting nutritional fast facts, child-friendly nutrition books, recipes, and refrigerator magnets with relevant quick nutrition facts.

Project Objective 3

Improve the health and growth of the children participating in the project. 

AAP District

District X

Institutional Name

Jackson Health System/Holtz Children’s Hospital

Contact 1

Azaria Lewis, DO, MS