THURS-027 - Early Insights: Preliminary Findings of a 12-month Food Is Medicine Intervention for Food Insecure Adults

Brief Abstract Summary: This presentation will focus on preliminary (baseline and mid-point) findings of a 12-month food is medicine intervention that includes bi-weekly nutrition coaching and a bag of fresh produce for food insecure adults with at least one existing chronic disease. Intervention design, implementation, data collection, and analysis of baseline and mid-point measures after 6-months will be presented.

Detailed abstract description:

Background: Food and nutrition insecurity is an international issue associated with higher rates of chronic disease and co-morbidities, particularly for minority groups. The food is medicine (FiM) movement has been seen nationally as an intervention strategy that connects healthcare and food needs. This presentation will focus on preliminary (baseline and mid-point) findings of a 12-month food is medicine intervention that includes bi-weekly nutrition coaching and a bag of fresh produce for food insecure adults with at least on existing chronic disease.

Methods: This study is a single group pre-post intervention design.
Intervention: The FoodFARMacy initiative is 12-month food is medicine intervention that includes bi-weekly nutrition coaching and a bag of fresh produce for food insecure adults with at least one chronic disease. Nutrition coaches are recruited from partner community organizations, trained, and then deliver the intervention to their existing clients/patients.
Data collection: Participant data is collected at baseline (1m), mid-point (6m), and post-intervention (12m) and includes self-reported (e.g. USDA food security) and biometric (e.g. BMi, blood pressure) measures. This study utilizes a Veggie Meter™, a novel instrument to measure skin carotenoid levels, to assess a biomarker for fruit and vegetable consumption. All data is collected on-site with assistance from the assigned coach.

Results: Preliminary baseline and mid-point (6m) data were assessed for two of the five participating intervention sites as of October 2024. Majority of participants are either Hispanic/Latino (53%) or Black (27%), with a high school level of education or less (74%), and an annual income of $24,999 or less (82%). Preliminary findings indicate a 19% decrease in food insecurity and 10% decrease in nutrition insecurity. Additionally, participants are reporting a 14% decrease in the average number of ER visits and improvements in blood pressure and hemoglobin A1c for those assessed. Participant dietary quality improved with 27% more participants meeting fruit consumption recommendations and 10% more meeting the recommendation for vegetables consumption. Veggie meter scores support these self-reported findings with overall scores trending upward from baseline(1M) to mid-point survey(6M) assessment.
Implications: Preliminary findings indicate that after 6-months participants are seeing positive outcomes on food and nutrition security, fruit and vegetable consumption, and health outcome data where assessed. This presentation highlights key components that might be useful for other researchers and practitioners interested in creating and assessing a FiM intervention targeting food insecure adults with a chronic disease.