Funded Projects

Food Insecurity: Newly Arrived Immigrant Families

Project Year

2023

City & State

Bronx, New York

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Immigrant/Migrant/Refugee/Undocumented

Program Description

Problem: Immigrant families disproportionately experience food insecurity compared to non-immigrant families, which is a concerning factor given the recent migrant crisis in the U.S. Current political and economic instability in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela, has forced thousands of Venezuelans to flee the country, hoping for a better future, most making the dangerous trip to the U.S. through the Darian gap. Once families arrive, they have many challenges, and many identify food insecurity. Food insecurity exacerbated by limited economic means and low acculturation is an essential social determinant influencing diet in immigrant families. There is a relationship between food insecurity in immigrant families and health consequences such as obesity in children. As pediatricians, we address food insecurities in these vulnerable families. Primary Setting/Number of Children affected: More than 150,000 Venezuelans were apprehended at the border between October 2021 and August 2022. NYC has seen the most significant number of migrants, with approximately 22,000 migrants since Spring 2022, and roughly 6,000 new migrant children have enrolled in the NYC school system. At the Comprehensive Health Care Clinic (CHCC), one of Montefiore's federally qualified healthcare centers in the South Bronx, we care for newly arrived immigrant children and families. We have partnered with BronxWorks, a family sanctuary shelter that has received 83 newly arrived immigrant families since August 2022, to provide care and establish a medical home for these families. We have seen 23 patients,16 had a completed SDH screen, and 87.5% reported food insecurity, compared to 4.5% in the general clinic patient population. Many immigrant families staying at the Bronxworks shelter have reported food insecurity as a challenge due to a lack of economic means and physical access to nutritious foods, mainly traditional and familiar foods. Even though Bronxworks offers meals and food is pre-packed, parents report concerns that their children do not like these foods, sometimes refuse to eat them, and are unhealthy. Project goal: Our goal is to provide newly arrived food-insecure immigrant families living in the Bronxwork shelter with immediate and longer-term access to culturally meaningful foods and long-lasting tools to address their social and medical needs supporting healthy growth and development. Proposed Intervention: Through our partnership with Bronxworks, we provide medical care to families residing in their shelters, and for those who screen positive for food insecurity, we will provide a gift card to buy food from Food Bazaar, a list of nearby food pantries, a referral to a community health worker (CHW), and culturally sensitive nutrition education workshops. We have partnered with Food Bazaar, a large nearby supermarket with a mission to provide this neighborhood with high-quality, affordable, ethnically diverse foods. We hope that by providing families with access to a supermarket with many food options, these families will be able to provide their child(ren) with the healthy foods they love. Food pantry details and CHW support should help them to continue to access a variety of available food resources. By providing culturally sensitive nutrition counseling, we hope it will have long-term effects on families’ healthy eating choices as they transition to a new American culture. Anticipated Outcomes: Immigrant families with food insecurity will have immediate and longer-term access to traditional and healthy foods. Families will have more knowledge and resources of healthy foods available, encouraging healthy lifestyle changes in a critical transition time. We will partner with BronxWorks for this and future initiatives to establish a medical home for immigrant families. We also hope to continue to partner with Food Bazaar so we can continue to provide our patients with free and discounted access to a wide variety of fresh, ethnically diverse foods.

Project Goal

Provide newly arrived food insecure immigrant families living in the Bronxworks shelter with immediate access to culturally relevant and nutritious foods, connect them with nearby food pantries and other food resources through a community health worker, and provide families with a culturally sensitive educational session about healthy nutrition in the Bronx.

Project Objective 1

By the end of August 2023, we will implement a system to distribute gift cards from Food Bazaar, food pantries resources, referrals to CHWs, and educational sessions about healthy eating to immigrant families in Bronxworks who screen positive for food insecurity.

Project Objective 2

 By June 1st, 2024, 90% of families who screen positive for food insecurity will have received a gift card from Food Bazaar, a referral to our community health worker, a list of food pantries, and access to an educational session about healthy nutrition.

Project Objective 3

By April 2024, we will establish a long-term plan and partnerships with Bronxworks, Food Baazar, and other local organizations to offer an immediate source of food to all immigrant families who screen positive for food insecurity in our clinic.

AAP District

District II

Institutional Name

Montefiore Comprehensive Health Center

Contact 1

Florangel De Leon Rodriguez