Tag: food insecurity

April 25, 2023

Community Gardens: Enhancing Nutrition, Physical Activity and Connection in Neighborhoods Across America

Gardening goes in and out of fashion over time, but the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new, younger wave of gardeners, many of whom grow in one of the more than 29,000 community garden plots located in city parks in the 100 largest U.S. cities. Community gardens have many benefits, including promoting healthy eating and physical activity, improving mental health and building social connections. With its many advantages, you could consider community gardening a “superfood” of activity.

One of the most obvious benefits of community gardens is that they increase access to healthy foods. In fact, adults who participate in community gardening eat more fruits and vegetables than those who don’t garden. By growing their own produce, gardeners can specifically plant foods that they like to eat as opposed to being restricted to what’s available in grocery stores. This is especially important in low-income neighborhoods where access to fresh fruits and vegetables may be limited. Food insecurity, or the limited access to nutritionally adequate food, affects an average of 11.5% of residents in the largest 100 US cities. Community gardens are an important tool to seasonally reduce food insecurity concerns up to 90% in impacted communities.

Community gardens also promote physical activity. Gardening is a whole-body activity that can burn the same number of calories as a traditional workout. Plus you get the added benefit of time spent in nature! Typical gardening tasks like digging, raking, lifting and squatting are excellent at burning calories, strengthening muscles and increasing physical fitness. Depending on the task, gardening can be a low- to moderate-intensity activity that helps meet the ACSM recommendation for 150 minutes of physical activity each week.

In addition to physical health benefits, community gardens help improve mental health and social connections. Studies have shown that gardening reduces stress and anxiety and promotes a sense of well-being. Community gardening, in particular, can decrease feelings of isolation and boost self-esteem. These gardens provide a space for people to connect with others and to work collaboratively. This is especially important for people who may be isolated or have limited social networks.

How can you get involved in a community garden?

The first step to getting involved is to find a garden in your area. Many cities have organized community garden programs that can help you find local garden plots, lend you tools or teach you how to garden. Local libraries, extension offices and community-based organizations are also great resources for finding community gardens and learning how to grow. (Pro tip: check with your local library to see if they have a seed bank that gives free seeds to library card holders.) Make sure to sign up early since some community gardens fill up quickly!

If you don’t have a community garden in your area, consider starting one. Talk to your neighbors, local organizations or city officials about the benefits of community gardens and how you can start one in your neighborhood. You may be surprised at how many people are interested in getting involved and how much support you can get from your local community.

Spring is the perfect season to get your hands dirty and start growing fresh fruits and vegetables. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner, there’s a welcoming place for you in a community garden. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start gardening!

Author: Gretchen Patch, MPH, CPH (Avid gardener and big supporter of extension offices 😊)

Senior Director of Strategic Health Initiatives and Partnerships, ACSM

November 5, 2021

Food Insecurity: Defining and Addressing a Community Health Challenge

Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” Generally, this indicator refers to households who don’t have enough food, particularly healthy food, to eat due to a lack of money and other resources. There are slight variations in how different organizations define food insecurity, but all relate to households who lack healthy food.

How big is the problem?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a spotlight was focused on food insecurity as many individuals lost their jobs, schools closed resulting in children not getting meals there and other normal sources of food were curtailed, resulting in households being unable to obtain all of the food that they needed. The U.S. Census Pulse Survey results indicate that those who sometimes or often did not have enough to eat due to lack of resources increased from about 20% pre-pandemic to 28% by mid-2021.

The Feeding America non-profit group produces annual “Map the Meal Gap” reports that include estimates of food insecurity at the city level. Their most recent report (2020) was used as the measure of food insecurity in the 2021 American Fitness Index (Fitness Index). Feeding America uses U.S. Census Current Population Survey data to measure of food insecurity based on a well-established statistical model using unemployment rates, median incomes, racial demographics and other factors shown to be determinants of food insecurity. Across the 100 cities included in the 2021 Fitness Index, there was almost a three-fold difference in the percentage of households with food insecurity, from a low of 6.7% for Arlington, VA, to a high of 18.2% for St. Louis, MO.

What is the impact of food insecurity?

A considerable amount of research has examined the physical and mental impact of food insecurity, including poor physical health outcomes, inadequate intake of key nutrients for optimum functioning and increased risk of chronic disease. Associations also exist between food insecurity and obesity along with poor glycemic control among those with diabetes. Of particular concern from a fitness perspective is that food insecure households may not consume an adequate amount of protein, a nutrient essential for a variety of bodily functions, including building and repairing muscles, bone health and development and stabilizing blood sugar. 

Healthy cognitive, psychological and emotional development among children is also dependent on them consuming sufficient amounts of nutritious food. America’s poor and near-poor children are at higher risk of lower academic achievement and behavioral problems. Food insecurity has been associated with poor psychological and cognitive functioning, higher probability of behavioral problems and higher levels of aggression and anxiety among children. Food insecure women are more likely to experience prenatal depressive symptoms than food secure women. Another consequence of food insecurity is poor sleep which can cloud thinking and lower energy, as well as decrease the ability to make good decisions. The profound impact of food insecurity on individuals’ physical and mental health made a clear case for adding this indicator to the Fitness Index.

How is food insecurity addressed at a policy level?

The federal government recently expanded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and other safety net programs that support low-income children and mothers during the pandemic to help increase access to food among those in need. These programs provide more than half of all food support for households in need. The USDA has also funded innovative demonstration projects such as creating and distributing meal boxes that contain a week’s worth of groceries that can be delivered to those in need.

What can city officials do to reduce food insecurity locally?

In addition to supporting existing food banks, pantries and other food providing programs, many city officials have supported the development and maintenance of innovative and effective programs to improve access to healthy food. The following examples offer city officials, local businesses and residents an opportunity to get involved in reducing food insecurity in their communities.

Organize food providing programs into a network that shares information and resources as well as analyzes food need patterns to build capacity in advance of expected needs.

Develop apps or websites to make local food resource information readily available. Information about food access is a critical resource particularly for households newly in need.

Establish mobile food pantries and farm produce trucks to carry needed food into the food deserts and to others in need of food.

Partner with farm-to-table and farm-to-school programs which are effective ways to ensure those in need have access to fresh produce while at the same time supporting local farmers.

Start community gardens, using city property when allowed, as public gardening spaces. Those interested are assigned an area in a shared garden where they can grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Seeds, water, tools and other resources are often provided or shared when available.

Create a food rescue program that gathers unused food from restaurants and similar food preparation organizations that might have otherwise been discarded, and distribute these food items to agencies that provide hot meals to those in need. Alternatively, food rescue programs can work with local farmers to glean what is left in farmers’ fields after their harvest. This rescues fresh fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste in fields.

Support organizations that help those in need understand their eligibility for benefits and help them navigate the application process. State agencies are responsible for distributing SNAP and WIC benefits, but many eligible people are not enrolled because applying for these benefits can be cumbersome and confusing.

While the problem is large, there is much we can all do to reduce food insecurity across the country. Clearly, having access to healthy food is important in all cities, and innovative, effective programs can be used by city officials to improve the access.

If you or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity, you can find help at www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food.

Author: Terrell W. Zollinger, DrPH, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University

August 13, 2019

Supporting Local Communities in the Fight Against Food Insecurity

The American Fitness Index serves as a tool and resource for community stakeholders to address conditions in the environments that negatively affect a person’s overall health and identifies target areas to create healthier, more active communities.

Eliminating food insecurity is a critical factor in improving the overall health and well-being of individuals in the communities we serve, which is why the Anthem Foundation recently partnered with The Food Trust. Our collaboration will expand The Food Trust’s community-based program, the Healthy Food Retail Initiative, aimed at increasing access to healthy food and promoting health equity in cites in Indiana, Ohio and California.

Through our work with ACSM and programs like the Indianapolis Healthy Food Retail Initiative with The Food Trust, the Anthem Foundation is committed to creating meaningful partnerships with organizations, targeting specific, preventable health concerns and addressing the conditions in our environments which negatively impact individuals within communities.

For example, the 2019 Fitness Index found that only 33.9 percent of Indianapolis residents are eating two or more fruits a day and just 15.1 percent of residents are eating three or more vegetables each day. Data also showed more than one in three Indianapolis residents live in low food access areas where fresh food is difficult to find. Through these findings, it was clear that far too many Hoosiers are living without reliable access to a sufficient supply of affordable, nutritious food.

Fortunately, our partnership with The Food Trust recently expanded the Healthy Food Retail Initiative into five additional communities on the Eastside of Indianapolis, with markets and convenience stores increasing inventory and promotion of fresh produce and other heart-healthy foods. These locations also serve as “community health hubs” by providing health screenings, nutrition education and cooking lessons.

We believe giving back is not only a privilege, but a responsibility that we all share. Since the Foundation’s inception, we have remained committed to improving health and strengthening local communities through contributions to organizations committed to empowering communities to create healthier generations.

Author: Stephen Friedhoff, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Anthem, Inc.

Since 2006, the Anthem Foundation has awarded the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) over $1.2M as a founding partner to establish the American Fitness Index.