RWJBarnabas Health’s Post

𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. Food insecurity—a lack of stable access to food in adequate quantity or quality—can negatively influence health through multiple pathways. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) distributes cash-like benefits to impoverished households in the US to buy food, with an average benefit size of approximately $240 a month per household before the COVID-19 pandemic. SNAP’s benefit size (coupled with challenges in accessing SNAP) has historically limited the program’s ability to fully address food insecurity, which continues to affect roughly 10% of US households. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SNAP emergency allotments (EAs) provided temporary increases to households’ benefit size—either to the maximum or by $95, whichever was greater. These EAs were the largest-ever increases in SNAP benefit amounts. The EAs ended in March 2023, but 18 states discontinued them even earlier when ending their state’s public health emergency. This state-level variation in SNAP benefit size allowed us to evaluate associations between changes in SNAP benefit amounts and food insufficiency, a severe form of food insecurity characterized by recent food inadequacy. https://lnkd.in/gzchUxAF

In 2021, the Royal Commission into Aged Care found that the current ACQS for meals ‘leaves much to the discretion of the provider and is not easily enforceable’. How ‘varied’ do meals have to be? What does ‘suitable’ mean?”, concluding that food and nutrition was one of four domains of care that required urgent attention. While additional subsidies meals in aged care were introduced, and have since been replaced by AN-ACC funding (specifically the hotelling supplement of $10.80 per person per day) ‘to support the delivery of food that is nutritious and appetising’, meals in aged care continue to be a focus of public and media attention. Reforms under the upcoming Strengthened Standards aim to address these concerns, with an expanded focus on assessing and meeting people’s needs and preferences, monitoring intake, and providing an enjoyable dining experience. Providers have the opportunity to get out ahead of these new requirements this month, with our updated ‘Meal Services, Nutrition & Hydration’ audit available from 1 August. Shared here are the upcoming audits that will be available to members of each MOA program in August. Keep in mind that it is always possible to customise your schedule to suit your organisation. If you are not a member and would like to see the full schedule of audit tools applicable to your organisation, please contact our team at 1300 760 209 or email us at [email protected]. We will be more than happy to assist you. #agedcareaustralia #ndis #arvas #agedcarenz

Did you know that in 2023, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits did not cover the cost of a meal in 99 percent of counties? While #SNAP helps more than 42 million Americans buy food for themselves and their families each year, many families receiving SNAP benefits are still facing food insecurity. In this updated #tool from Urban, explore #data by county, or filter by rural-urban continuum codes to see patterns of the maximum SNAP benefit per meal with the county-level average cost of a modestly priced meal. Access the tool. https://urbn.is/4bPlxng

City of Cleveland - City Hall, Cleveland Clinic, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, The MetroHealth System (Cleveland, OH) and University Hospitals came together today to pledge further commitment to address hunger in greater Cleveland. In communities across the country, food insecurity is a growing issue. It is a lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One in seven people in the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s service area is food insecure, meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from. Food insecurity is a social determinant of health that has a significant impact on a person’s wellbeing. In Cuyahoga County alone, there is a 20.8% rate of food insecurity among children under the age of 18, according to Feeding America. UH has been actively addressing food insecurity in the region since 2018, with the opening of its first UH Food for Life Market® in the Fairfax neighborhood. This innovative program, in collaboration with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Sodexo, addresses food insecurity tailored to the specific medical needs of its patients and assesses the impact of healthy food on health outcomes. Since then, UH has opened additional locations at UH Cleveland and Portage medical centers in 2021 and UH Conneaut Medical Center in 2022. In November, UH cut the ribbon on its fifth Food For Life Market® at the UH Community Wellness Center at Glenville, located at The Davis, an affordable housing complex in partnership with the NRP Group and the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority. Research recently presented at a national meeting in Denver from UH’s Food for Life Markets® shows decreases in blood pressure for hypertensive patients, blood glucose numbers for diabetic patients, and excess weight gain for pregnant patients.      Along with free food and nutritional counseling for patients who experience food insecurity, UH offers free cooking lessons at its teaching kitchens. Additionally, UH has served more than 41,000 free meals to children through its USDA Summer Feeding Program and provided healthy food bags to more than 12,500 families through Healthy Harvest and Emergency food giveaway programs.   “To date, more than 7,600 individuals have been served through our UH Food For Life Markets®, explained UH Chief Executive Officer Cliff A. Megerian, MD, FACS, Jane and Henry Meyer Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. “But we know we can and must do more, which is why in 2024, University Hospitals will be opening two additional Food for Life Markets® in the Lake County and Richmond Heights communities. With these current efforts, and our plans for expansion over the next five years, our commitment to address food insecurity is estimated to total approximately $18 million.” To read more, visit: https://lnkd.in/gA8jDags

Attorneys Serving the Community is thrilled to announce that it has selected Crossroads Community Services as its 2023-2024 beneficiary. For over two decades, Crossroads has compassionately served Dallas residents and surrounding communities to alleviate food insecurity. Crossroads uses a collaborative approach to revolutionize the food pantry distribution model through food equity research, client-centered services, and community partner engagement. Funds that ASC raises this year will kickstart and support three critical campaigns: 1. A Nutrition Pharmacy that will offer food assistance to patients with co-occurring diagnoses of food insecurity and chronic health conditions. Partners at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Parkland Health, and Children's Health will pre-screen patients for food security and provide referrals or Food Prescriptions for groceries that patients will be able to use at the new Nutrition Pharmacy. 2. A Culinary Medicine Teaching Kitchen where food becomes medicine. Crossroads will use its Kitchen to change the tables in our community by teaching shoppers how to prepare healthy meals with culturally relevant recipes. This new service builds on Crossroads’s service model and supports its mission to increase access to convenient, nutritious options by teaching families to prepare healthy plates. In partnership with shoppers’ healthcare plans, Crossroads will integrate nutrition education to inspire healthy eating habits, strengthening families and changing communities. 3. A Children’s Play Market that will give children shopping with their parents an opportunity to access food in a fun and safe environment. At Crossroads, no one ever walks away empty-handed. By increasing the number of food-secure households, Crossroads is changing entire communities where people can thrive.

🌟 Exciting News in the Food is Medicine Movement! 🍎🤝 🔗 Key Highlights: 🤝 Partnership Power: Feeding America, HHS, Rockefeller Foundation, and Instacart unite to advance Food is Medicine work, committing to unified policies and collective understanding of interventions and impacts. 🏥 Healthcare Integration: HHS recognizes and elevates Feeding America's program, launched with Elevance Health Foundation in 2019, screening patients for food insecurity during health care visits and connecting them to vital resources. 🌍 Community Impact: Notable outcomes include food pantries, prepackaged food pickup boxes, produce prescription programs, nutrition courses, and home delivery services. 🗣 "When we can eat well, we can be well – and we can thrive." - Radha Muthiah, Capital Area Food Bank CEO. 🙌 "This partnership underscores the importance of all stakeholders in the healthcare system working together to support whole health." - Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., Chief Health Officer, Elevance Health. Let's amplify the impact! Share your thoughts on how partnerships like these can transform communities and contribute to the #FoodisMedicine movement. Connect, collaborate, and let's continue driving positive change together! Together, we're taking bold steps towards a healthier, more nourished future for all. #HealthEquity #FoodisMedicine https://lnkd.in/gNKkTHnm

As we mark our 45th anniversary this year, WSCAH has been leading change across the emergency feeding sector, consistently pushing boundaries and advocating for systemic improvements. We remain steadfast in our commitment to making healthy food and benefits enrollment accessible in the neighborhoods where our customers live. While this work has been essential to ensuring our customers can put healthy food on their tables, our team continues to pursue innovative initiatives through research, advocacy, and press efforts intended to improve the system. 📚Research: - The journal, Pediatric Obesity, published an article about WSCAH’s Food FARMacy program in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). Research showed that children of families who received healthy food from the program had slower rates of BMI increase compared to their counterparts not enrolled. - The Food FARMacy program was also spotlighted in a study published in the journal, Nutrients MDPI, demonstrating an association between improved food security and increased fresh produce consumption. 👥Advocacy:  - The Roundtable: Allies for Food Access – a dedicated network of emergency food providers – collaborated to provide over 52 million meals to New Yorkers, distributing healthy food at more than 1,200 sites across all five boroughs.  - Alongside the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), WSCAH hosted Congressman Jim McGovern and partners from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and Roundtable member New York Common Pantry at our 86th Street distribution center for a discussion about hunger, food as medicine, and Farm Bill advocacy focused on SNAP and TEFAP. - Testified at the preliminary budget hearing of the NYC Council Committee on General Welfare and the executive budget hearing of the NYC Council Committee on Finance. 🗞Press: - Wrote a letter to the editor in The New York Times criticizing the Editorial Board for failing to mention food insecurity as one of the major issues facing NYC.  - Published an op-ed in City Limits, emphasizing the importance of harnessing the collective power of NYC’s anti-hunger organizations to provide all New Yorkers with choice and access to healthy produce.  - Featured in an Authority Magazine interview about food deserts, discussing the importance of collaboration in the nonprofit sector. 🎤Media: - Launched a three-part podcast series entitled "Hangry for Change" with award-winning journalist Charles Bell, providing insights into WSCAH's past, present, and future.  - Authored a chapter in the Handbook of Food Insecurity and Society, offering perspectives on emergency feeding in America. - And save the date for our upcoming virtual town hall on March 22 where we will discuss the book and the evolution of emergency feeding systems.

"The monthly costs for healthy meals for a family of four participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program increased by 31% over the past three years. The United States Department of Agriculture stated the food stamp benefit amounts are based every year upon the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan. SNAP spent $7.9 billion on food stamps in November 2023. The thrifty plan is considered the cost of groceries needed to provide a healthy, cost-friendly diet for families to prepare at home. The foods include dark green vegetables, poultry, and whole fruit, according to the USDA website. These meals serve as a model for nutrition, now the typical meal for a family of four has increased in cost by 31% from January 2021 to January 2024, according to reports. The cost for a family of four under the thrifty plan in 2021 with children ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 11 was $675 a month. The United States Department of Agriculture’s 2023 updated thrifty plan for a family of four with children 6 to 8 and 9 to 11 now totals $975.90 monthly. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recommends meals for people on food stamps that their allotment is based upon." #fcf #flatbush #flatbushfund #community #istandwithisrael

Good news - the USDA may be improving school food. Why is this a big deal? Well, as a nation, we cut our red meat consumption and the government regulated smoking and banned trans fats, yet our health has still declined, e.g. diet related disease skyrocketed and we're living shorter lives. This bill isn't perfect and is only one step towards making great food de facto, but it remains worth celebrating (and making sure it is implemented). #GoodFoodSolvesIssues p.s. This is likely far more impactful than the combined work of the thousands on nonprofits who do food education for kids. https://lnkd.in/g8uKzhih