By Diana Cuy Castellanos, University of Dayton
Being food-insecure – unable to get enough nutritious food to meet your needs – can take a toll on your health. So Dayton Children's Hospital has begun to screen its patients and their families for this problem and refer them to what it's calling the “Food Pharm."
This program, which launched about two years ago, currently aims to provide about 55 families per month with enough healthy food, such as whole grain pasta, beans and green beans, to feed a family of four for three days while also connecting them with other resources to help them get through the rest of the week.
It's also taking care to ensure that this one-time donation of nutritious food is culturally appropriate, meaning that people know how to prepare and consume the food they receive and it fits with their culture and beliefs. For example, it's not culturally appropriate to give people tofu if they've never seen it or cooked with it, or to give devout Muslims pork.
Participating families get a box of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, proteins and grains. Families also get some help, if they are eligible, enrolling in the government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as taking nutrition classes. The Food Pharm also connects the families of patients with food pantries near their homes so they might get more access to free food on a regular basis.