Source: NEW YORK COMMON PANTRY, INC. submitted to NRP
FOOD MD PROGRAM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028891
Grant No.
2022-70422-37757
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-06170
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2022
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[PPR]- Produce Prescription
Recipient Organization
NEW YORK COMMON PANTRY, INC.
8 E 109TH ST
NEW YORK,NY 100293402
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Food MD program at NY Common Pantry is uniquely positioned to provide long-term wrap around support for individuals experiencing food insecurity and at risk for nutrition insecurity and health related issues. While this can be a barrier to health in any capacity, those also managing a chronic diet-related condition experience more adverse outcomes that can be fatal. For many in low-income communities, the barriers to healthy foods can be vast, including limited financial resources, limitations in mobility, barriers to accessing transportation, and time constraints which can all compound the challenges of gaining access to healthy food resources. The Food MD program addresses each of these barriers by centering the patient in the delivery of education and resources that are specific to their neighborhood, family size, and overall abilities to support them in making healthy choices everyday and giving them the skills to support holistic management of their chronic disease.Our basic methods and approaches include bi-directional sharing of patient information with our clinical partners through secure digital file sharing. All Food MD participants will be assigned an ID number to further aid in protecting their identity. Utilizing pre and post surveys in addition to quarterly clinical screenings for food security, patient progress over longer term periods will be collected and assessed. We will use the information from surveys, clinical biometrics, overall pantry visit frequency, benefits accessed for the household, and clinical visit information to create a full picture of how the Food MD program supported patients to establish food security within the household. Further, patient focus groups and clinical partner roundtables will allow us to receive feedback from our stakeholders, ensuring that our program structure and delivery are consistent with the needs of all parties involved and further deepens the connections between clinical and community partners for meeting the needs of those we serve.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
70460993030100%
Knowledge Area
704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;
Goals / Objectives
The Food MD Program at NY Common Pantry is a comprehensive, whole person approach to addressing chronic disease prevention in collaboration with clinical partners which screen and identify qualifying patients for a 3-month Nutrition Education and Food Resource intensive, building healthy dietary behaviors and increasing household food security. The goal of the Food MD Program at NY Common Pantry is to increase household food security and improve dietary behaviors for patients diagnosed with or at risk of developing diet-related chronic disease. Our major goal statements include:The Food MD Program will improve patient household food security.The Food MD Program will improve nutrition security, purchasing power, and consumption of fresh produce by Food MD participants.The Food MD Program will improve patient health outcomes through referrals to NY Common Pantry. The Objectives of the Food MD Program at NY Common Pantry, by Major Goals, is detailed below:The Food MD Program will improve patient household food security.Objective 1: Improve participant household food security levelBy September 30, 2023 80% of Food MD participants will complete post evaluation surveys demonstrating an overall increase in household food security score.By September 30, 2023 all patients referred to the Food MD program will be screened by the Help 365 Social Service team for eligible benefits and support programs.By September 30 2023 all Food MD participants will receive bi-weekly pantry packages to support their householdThe Food MD Program will improve nutrition security, purchasing power, and consumption of fresh produce by Food MD participants.Objective 2: Increase participant knowledge of food and nutrition concepts.By September 30, 2023 80% of Food MD Participants will complete a full nutrition education series sessionBy September 30, 2023 80% of participants completing the Food MD program will demonstrate an increased knowledge of nutrition and dietBy September 30, 2023 80% of participants completing the Food MD program that participate in cooking demonstration workshops will demonstrate an increased knowledge and ability to prepare fresh produce at homeBy September 30, 2023 55% of participants completing the Food MD program will demonstrate an increase in fruits and vegetables consumedObjective : Improve participant knowledge of food resource management skills.By September 30, 2023 70% of participants completing the Food MD program will demonstrate an increased knowledge and ability to utilize SNAP benefits for the purchase of fresh produce.By September 30, 2023 70% of participants completing the Food MD program will demonstrate an increased knowledge of SNAP incentive programs for produce purchases.By September 30, 2023 70% of Food MD participants will increase their purchases of produce from regional food systemsThe Food MD Program will improve patient health outcomes through referrals to NY Common Pantry.Objective : Strengthen Clinical Referral Process between Healthcare Partner Networks and NY Common PantryBy September 30, 2023 NYCP's Live Healthy Team will partner with 5 Food MD Clinical Healthcare Partners for referring patients to the Food MD ProgramBy September 30, 2023 NYCP's Live Healthy Team train 3 clinical members from partnership sites on the Food MD program, including conducting food insecurity screeningsBy September 30, 2023 Clinical Partners will:develop and implement screening processes for food insecurity into the clinical servicesScreen patients for food insecurityScreen food insecure patients for Food MD eligibility and refer eligible patients to the Food MD programEnroll 100 patients into the Food MD programRefer food insecure patients that do not quality for Food MD to NY Common PantryComplete 100 Midpoint and 100 Final Patient ScreeningsObjective : Evaluate program effectiveness and utilize findings to improve program delivery and outcomes.By September 30, 2023 40% of Food MD participants will join in focus group sessions, allowing for feedback to improve future iterations of the program and strengthening program design for participant success.By September 30, 2023 NYCP's Live Healthy Team will conduct 2 Clinical Partner Round Tables, allowing for feedback to improve future iterations of the program and strengthen partnership's for simplified integration into Healthcare Networks.By September 30, 2023 NYCP's Live Healthy Team will participate in the Food MD Program Impact Evaluation in partnership with the GusNIP Evaluation team.
Project Methods
The Food MD program begins with community needs assessments and identification of clinical partners within target communities of heightened need. Upon identification, the Live Healthy! (LH) team reaches out to clinical sites to deliver a Clinical Information Session which reviews the role of the clinical partner, the support and guidance of the LH team, and the patient experience from start to finish. Evaluation of clinical partner readiness is also taken into account, ensuring staff capacity for training, screening, and reporting related to patient referrals and completion of the program. Clinical partners complete the Partnership Agreement, attend a food insecurity screening training, are provided with marketing materials for their site, and schedule multiple Food MD Introductory Sessions for their patients. These Intro Sessions are an opportunity to promote the Food MD program at the clinical site, provide information on NY Common Pantry services, and provide the space for any interested patients to ask questions directly of the Public Health Nutritionists leading the education sessions. Interested patients notify their clinician they would like to be screened for eligibility, at which time the food insecurity screening will take place, followed by a collection of applicable health metrics (blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI), and if deemed eligible, are referred to our Clinical Referral Manager.The Clinical Referral Manager begins the intake process for referrals into the Food MD program by determining demographic and household information relevant to the patient. Once onboarded, the patient is assigned a Pantry ID Number and is registered to receive Choice Pantry Packages for their entire household for one calendar year. Their registration in Choice Pantry provides their household with a grocery package fit for the number of people in their household and is distributed on a biweekly basis and consists of canned, or frozen protein (meat, fish), dry or canned beans, cereal, fruits, vegetables, milk, bread, and grains (pasta, rice). These grocery packages provide each member of the household with additional meals per week, aiding in the overall food security of the household. Patient access to Choice Pantry Packages is not dependent on their continuation in the Food MD program and can be renewed at the end of the first year should the patient and their families still have a need for these additional food resources.While being on-boarded to the Pantry, patients are also screened for any additional benefits they may be eligible for by our Help 365 Social Service team. These benefits include screening for WIC benefits, SNAP benefits, housing assistance, child care assistance, and other services that provide support and stability across the full spectrum of the families needs. Patients reserve the right to claim or deny any additional supports identified for them at their discretion.Upon completion of onboarding with the Clinical Referral Manager and screening by the Help 365 Social Service team, the patient's information is shared with the Live Healthy! Team's Public Health Nutritionists to schedule their Orientation. Lead by the Nutritionists, the orientation is a review of the Food MD program, including educational resource, food preparation equipment (measuring cups/spoons, water bottles, cutting board), physical activity equipment (pedometer, jump rope, resistance bands), and additional support items (tracking notebook, reusable bag for produce, blood pressure cuff loaner). At this time, the patient completes the Food MD pre-survey, the initial qualifying health measures from the clinical site are paired with the patient orientation documents, and the patient is registered as a Food MD Live Healthy! Member. As a member, the participant will be added to our text communication system for reminders and healthy living nudges, they are assigned a unique Food MD identifier to protect their personal information, and are enrolled in their 6-week nutrition education workshops. Due to COVID, all Food MD Participant resources including education and cooking workshops have been adapted for either in-person or 100% virtual education at the participants discretion. The nutrition education series includes 4 core workshops that focus on nutrition knowledge, functional skills for reading food labels and identifying ingredients, and building a strong baseline of confidence in identifying healthy foods. Additionally, 2 workshops are focused on community food resources, including a greenmarket tour and a grocery store tour. These tours are specific to the community the participant lives in and a priority is given to those retailers that also accept WIC, SNAP/EBT, Health Bucks, and other programs aimed at increasing the consumption of health promoting foods. For each workshop session that patients attend they will earn a voucher for a Farm Share produce package. Upon completion of the 6 workshops, Food MD participants will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to find, purchase, and prepare healthy foods on a budget for themselves and their families.Throughout the 6-session nutrition education workshops, patients will earn vouchers for the purchase of Farm Share produce packages; 15-20 lbs of fresh, locally sourced seasonal produce. These packages are in addition to the Choice Pantry packages and are meant to help increase the availability of fresh produce for consumption by the patient. Similar to the Choice Pantry packages, Farm Share produce packages are distributed fortnightly on opposite weeks of pantry distribution. Through the duration of the program, participants have the option to join live Recipe Club workshops, in which Nutritionists prepare healthy affordable meals utilizing items received in the Choice Pantry and Farm Share packages. This is to support the members in utilizing all of the food provided and ensuring they are getting the most out of every food resource. Additionally, the Live Healthy! Cooks Website is an online resource for participants to access recipes, videos, information and inspiration for eating healthy everyday. As our community is immensely diverse, our team provides all of our programming, resources and activities in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Fujianese. Many of the recipes we create and share are adapted from our own cultures and speak to the diversity and representativeness on the plate; a feature of our program that removes barriers and increases inclusivity for our communities.

Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The NYCP Food MD Program's target audience is food insecure SNAP-eligible adults with, or at high risk of developing, diet-related chronic disease within the South Bronx and Harlem with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, healthcare staff will alsobe trained to administer diet related chronic disease and food insecurity screenings, provide patient guidance and establish baseline measures. As such, they will become more aware of food insecurity and its impact on their patients, and are a secondary audience of this project. Changes/Problems:The main challenge we've faced has been with the IRB process. Initially, delays prevented us from launching our program on time. We officially launched the Food MD Program in January 2024. A couple of months later, our external evaluators contacted us to indicate that our current IRB for Secondary Analysis might not be accurate, requesting further clarification andresubmission of a new IRB that further delayed the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?New York Common Pantry attended the following professional development events: NIFA Community NutritionProjectDirector Conference- The overall goals of the PD Conference were to report on the progress of awarded projects, improve post-award management of competitive grants administered by NIFA, and enhance communication, networking, and interaction among USDA program staff and CFP, FASLP, GusNIP, and GusCRR active awardees. Fair Food Network Mini-Convening- The overall goal was to provide support to GusNIP grantees and applicants through theNutrition Incentive Hub.This year's mini-convening included both SNAP-nutrition incentive and produce prescription grantees. New York Common Pantry was invited to be one of the co-hosts. As co-host, New York Common Pantryoffered a site visit, provided a presentation about our Nutrition Education Model and Produce Prescription Program andfacilitated discussions with partners across the Nutrition Incentive Hub. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?No results have been dissiminated yet. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? New York Common Pantry wil implement a mobile, one-stop screening and enrollment model to build the capacity of our Produce Prescription program (Food MD). Our aim is to bolster our capacity to conduct health screenings of potential Food MD participants, as well as to increase participant engagement and community outreach through the use of portable medical equipment and stipends. New York Common Pantry has experiencedIRBchallenges during the project timeline, including IRB delays/ IRB resubmissionas well as personnel, which delayed the implementation of the Food MD- Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program. Therefore, werequested an NCE to continue operating the program with all necessary resources and personnel in place and achieve the intended outcomes and objectives outlined in our original proposal. New York Common pantry will carryover the stipend funds awarded into the next fiscal year (Sept 1, 2024 - August 31st, 2025) to continue providing our participants with survey stipend for completing pre/post surveys.Each participant will receive a $10 gift card once they complete the pre-survey and an additional $10 gift card once they complete the post-surveyat the start and end of the 3-months program.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Improve participant household food security level. By September 30, 2023- 40% of Food MD participants havecompleted post evaluation surveys demonstrating an overall increase in household food security score. By September 30, 2023- AllFood MD participants referred to the Food MD program have been screened by the Help 365 Social Service team for eligible benefits and support programs. By September 30 2023- All Food MD participants have receive access tobi-weekly pantry packages to support their household. Objective 2: Increase participant knowledge of food and nutrition concepts. By September 30, 2023- 39.13% of Food MD Participants havecompletednutrition education series session. By September 30, 2023- 53.30% of participants completing the Food MD program have demonstratedan increased knowledge of nutrition and diet. By September 30, 2023- 33.30% of participants completing the Food MD program that participate in cooking demonstration workshops havedemonstrated an increased knowledge and ability to prepare fresh produce at home. By September 30, 2023- 66.70% of participants completing the Food MD program havedemonstrated an increase in fruits consumed and 53.30% vegetables consumed. Objective 3: Improve participant knowledge of food resource management skills- IN PROGRESS Objective 4: Strengthen Clinical Referral Process between Healthcare Partner Networks and NY Common Pantry. By September 30, 2023- NYCP's Live Healthy Team partneredwith 5 Food MD Clinical Healthcare Partners for referring patients to the Food MD Program. By September 30, 2023- NYCP's Live Healthy Team trained 3 clinical members from partnership sites on the Food MD program, including conducting food insecurity screenings. By September 30, 2023 Clinical Partners: Developed and implement screening processes for food insecurity into the clinical services. Screened patients for food insecurity. Screened food insecure patients for Food MD eligibility and referred eligible patients to the Food MD program. Enrolled 23patients into the Food MD program. Referred food insecure patients that do not quality for Food MD to NY Common Pantry. Objective 5: Evaluate program effectiveness and utilize findings to improve program delivery and outcomes- IN PROGRESS

Publications


    Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:One of our major challenges to start programmingwas the IRB review process. It took longer than expected. Implementation and Reporting will start at beginning of January 2024. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will aimto: Reachout to clinical sites to deliver a Clinical Information Session Trainings to review the role of the clinical partner, the support and guidance of the LH team, and the patient experience from start to finish. Evaluation of clinical partner readiness willalso taken into account, ensuring staff capacity for training, screening, and reporting related to patient referrals and completion of the program. Complete the Partnership Agreement with clinical partners and provide themwith marketing materials for their site to start patient recuritment. Schedule Multiple Food MD Orientation sessions to enroll participants into the program. Schedule Nutrition EducationWorkshops and Produce prescriptionsonce participant are enrolled.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? We were waiting on theIRBapproval letter to submitt it to GusNIP/NIFA for release of our grant funds and to start programming. We will be reporting on the accomplishment of this goals in the upcoming year.

    Publications