Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Paths to Wellness covers all of our agency's service area including Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, with special attention to Mayport. In these beach communities of Jacksonville there is tremendous need to address critical issues affecting the food access of our low-income residents. In 2015 BEAM's programs reached a total of 18,580 low income children and adults. Almost all BEAM clients live in households at 125% of the poverty level or below, many at the 100%level. They are predominantly Caucasian, about 25% African American, about 8% Hispanic (reflective of the local low-income population). 93% live in a family, typically an unemployed single parent supporting at least two children. Other significant groups include people with disabilities, the elderly including grandparents raising grandchildren, and families of active duty military. Our agency serves a portion of Jacksonville, the largest U. S. city in terms of square mileage. Jacksonville is spread over 3 counties, including Duval County where BEAM is located. According to the US Census Bureau the poverty rate in 2014 for Duval County was 18.2%, while the Florida rate was 15.7% and the US rate was 13.5%in that same year. Duval County had a food insecurity rate of 20.1% in 2014 while Florida's rate was 16.2% and the US rate was 14.7%. [1] Increasing access to affordable food in Mayport, one of our most impoverished neighborhoods, is a major program goal. Mayport, Florida is one of Jacksonville's most impoverished neighborhoods, but is often overlooked in food policy discussions due to its proximity to wealthy coastal neighborhoods and to Naval Station Mayport. In fact, Mayport zip code 32227 has one of the highest poverty rates in Northeast Florida at 19%, compared to the national rate of 14.7%.[2], [3] Naval Station Mayport is a major influence on the surrounding area. Currently 55 ships operate out of this Base, requiring over 14,000 active duty personnel and hundreds of civilian support staff. About 30% of our Mayport Pantry clients are active duty and retired military families. Lack of affordable, safe housing and limited family incomes make it difficult for many military families to put healthy food on the table in this area. The median household income for this area is $35,536, about 75% of that for surrounding Duval County, $49,196. Its poverty rate is 20% higher than the rest of Duval County, with 29% of Mayport's children under 18 living below the poverty line. In addition, education is low, the college education rate is 9.4% obtaining at least a Bachelor's degree, about only one third of the rate in the remainder of Jacksonville (27.1%) and Duval County ( 28.1%).[2], [3] The Mayport area is a USDA designated food desert, meaning that this low-income census tract has a significant number of residents that are more than one mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket and lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables and other foods that make up a healthy diet. This is also an area designated low vehicle access, meaning that more than 100 households have no access to a vehicle and are more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket.[4] Geographically, Mayport is on a semi-rectangular peninsula sandwiched between the St John's River, Intercoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean, which limits access to and from the area to travel lengthwise along a busy throughway to the Naval Station. The lack of an adequate Jacksonville public transportation system also limits access to needed resources for many low-income residents. As an example, from Mayport, it can take between 1 ½ and 2 hours to travel by bus (the only form of city-wide public transportation) to key employment and service organizations located downtown or in widely-spread office parks. The combination of no grocery store or effective mass or personal transit, unsafe walking conditions, a significant portion of the population below poverty level and high chronic disease rates is a one-two punch for the health and quality of life of the residents of this historic fishing village. Avoiding poverty in Jacksonville's other beach communities is also challenging. As you move away from the ocean and its expensive condos, many streets rapidly deteriorate. Small, old single-family homes in disrepair, house trailers, and run-down multi-unit rentals are common. Affordable housing is very limited here and rental rates are rising faster than in other parts of Jacksonville and the rest of the country. The Jacksonville area is now among the top 20 U.S. cities in terms of rising apartment rental rates.[5] In 2016 our area's rental rates are predicted to rise another 4.3%, a trend we clearly see playing out in the beaches area. In recent years foreclosures in areas like Neptune Beach have been well above national averages. Numerous recent studies confirm the many negative effects on health that accompany poverty and food insecurity. For instance, food insecure people must often choose between purchasing food and medicine[6], between purchasing food and visiting a doctor[7], or between buying low cost food and buying more expensive food for a medical condition like diabetes[8].In 2016, 65.4% of overall Duval county residents were overweight or obese, compared to 63.2% in the state of Florida. Of those with minimal education levels like our selected population, the rate was even higher at 67.5%. In terms of the most common nutrition related chronic conditions, 9.8 % of county residents have a history of acute cardiovascular events, 11.3%and 34% have been told they have diabetes or hypertension. Less than 50% of adults in Duval County are sufficiently active to meet health recommendations.[9] According to FNEFL Hunger in America 2014, 37% of local food insecure households have at least one member with diabetes, 35% have a member with high blood pressure. With limited funds, food tradeoffs in spending are common. Sixty-eight percent of household's report choosing between paying for food and paying for medical care or medicines in the past year, 34% must make this choice monthly. Sixty-nine percent of households reported choosing between food or transportation in the last year, 45% face this choice monthly.[10] [1] C. Gundersen, W. Elaine, E. Engelhard, T. Del Vecchio, and A. Satoh, "Map the Meal Gap 2015 Highlights of Findings for Overall and Child Food Insecurity," 2015. [2] "Census profile: Census Tract 139.04, Duval, FL," vol. 2018, no. Feb 2015. [3] United States Census Bureau, "American Factfinder - Community Facts," vol. 2018, no. Feb 2015. [4] United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, "Food Security in the U.S. Measurement," vol.2017, no. Sept 24. [5] G. Marcus and W. Millichap, "Marcus & Millichap - real estate investment services, national investment and commercial real estate.," 2015. [Online]. Available: www.marcusmillichap.com. [Accessed: 22-Nov-2015]. [6] S. A. Berkowitz et al., "Material need insecurities, control of diabetes mellitus, and use of health care resources results of the measuring economic insecurity in diabetes study," JAMA Intern. Med., 2015. [7] C. T. Ma, L. Gee, and M. B. Kushel, "Associations Between Housing Instability and Food Insecurity with Health Care Access in Low-Income Children," Ambul. Pediatr., 2008. [8] H. K. Seligman, J. Tschann, E. A. Jacobs, A. Fernandez, and A. López, "Food insecurity and glycemic control among low-income patients with type 2 diabetes," Diabetes Care, 2012. [9] "FlHealthCharts: Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set," 2018. [10] "Hunger in America 2014: National Report." 2014 Changes/Problems: The attempt to start a weekly Farmer's Market near Mayport Naval Station did not succeed with the proposed design and partners due partially to modest sales related to poor site selection and market timing along with weather fluctuations. Our original market was held on Friday afternoons to coincide with the end of the workday at Naval Station Mayport and did well to start, but then attendance slowed in the heat of summer. Fewer farmers participated as a result, and the market was discontinued. In addition, the partner organization managing the area markets, Dig Local, suffered a leadership crisis, forcing the dissolution of the board of directors. In the interim, we continued our market outreach efforts at the Atlantic Beach Farmer's Market, located less than two miles from the original Mayport site and the Saturday Beaches Green market, within five miles of the original site. The Program Director joined the re-formed Dig Local board of directors, working closely with the board president to ensure the continued operation of the markets and the strategic development of a market in the Mayport neighborhood.Dig Local negotiated with the City of Atlantic Beach on a permanent market space to support our farmers and to provide fresh, local foods to the residents of Mayport and our military families stationed at Mayport. As part of BOD and food assistance partner, PD facilitated continued market operations during COVID-19 shut downs, including distribution of relief foods through food bank partner, online ordering and relocation of markets to a larger location approximately one mile from the originally proposed Mayport site. 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?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Significant accomplishments achieved during the grant term as a result of our project included prescriptive, preventative and public health nutrition services and outreach events and products. Our Paths to Wellness program improved access to evidence-based nutrition information and to fresh, nutritious foods for thousands of our low-income neighbors in the Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Mayport areas. • 8,000 people stopped by our booths at the Farmer's Markets to taste test seasonal produce recipes and learn how to choose, store and prepare the fresh produce being sold by the local farmers at the market • 36,400 local residents had the opportunity to purchase local fresh produce from 37 local farmers and other vendors at our Dig Local farmer's markets using SNAP match dollars for two for one produce • 630 local residents received assistance in applying or recertifying for SNAP benefits • 239 cooking demonstrations were conducted by our Registered Dietitian and health students in our farmer's markets, food pantries, mobile food pantries and outreach locations • A farmer's market seasonal produce curriculum was developed based on interest and feedback from vendors, farmers and market customers. The curriculum revolves around produce available at the market sold by the farmers that day and provides food tastings, selection and storage guidelines, nutrition information, cooking tips and simple recipes for each item. • A food safety curriculum was developed for our farmer's markets, clients, food pantries, and food distribution partners. Topics covered included disaster preparedness (hurricanes), recovered food safety guidelines, expiration dates clarifications, food handling safety and food borne illness. • A monthly "health topic calendar" was developed to coordinate messaging across interactions. Examples include Women's Heart Health month with cooking demonstrations and blood pressure screenings at farmer's markets, medical clinics and food distribution sites. • PD served on farmer's market partner, Dig Local, board of directors, facilitating continued market operations during COVID-19 shutdowns, distribution of relief foods through food bank partner and relocation of markets to a larger location approximately one mile from the originally proposed site. • 551 nutrition counseling sessions were conducted for patients referred from local medical providers for treatment of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension • 129 patients treated for nutrition related diseases made significant progress on knowledge, attitudinal, behavioral and/or clinical measures through individual counseling or monthly group diabetes classes • 1363 food pantry visits were conducted in which a client or patient at risk for nutrition related illness could shop for foods and receive advice from a trained nutrition advocate from the community, a nutrition specialist or a Registered Dietitian • Based on feedback from focus groups and individual interviews, an existing Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) curriculum was modified to fit the specific needs of the target populations. This curriculum is currently in use within individual Medical Nutrition Therapy counseling and group DSME education classes. • > 3000 people were exposed to nutrition education messaging and provided with supplementary foods through the Mobile Food Pantry outreach program • A "Better Choices" shelf labeling and food display system was instituted in food pantries to better assist clients and volunteers in choosing foods that benefit health and wellness • > 5000 families in the food desert area of Mayport, Florida were able to obtain free fresh produce and pantry staples at more than 99 mobile food pantry events, including "Mayport Markets", held at two local elementary schools on early release days • 14,000 pounds of fresh produce was grown in our organic garden and supplied to our food panty and outreach clients, including Mayport Elementary School families • A monthly average of 91,000 pounds of food including fresh produce, pantry staples, quality proteins and whole grains were distributed to target audience members at our program related sites, including our own Jacksonville Beach and Mayport food pantries, Mayport Naval Station USO food pantry and Mayport and Finnegan Elementary Schools • More than 12,000 pounds of food was distributed at "Beaches Health Jam", an annual health fair in an underserved community, in collaboration with local medical providers, social services organizations and fraternal organizations • Our Neighbors for Nutrition program allowed 18 successful nutrition therapy patients to serve as shopping guides in our foodservice outreach, working together with Registered Dietitians, nutrition and nursing students/interns and other community volunteers to advise 932 of their low income neighbors on food choices to improve their health and well-being. • In addition, this N4N team came together in response to COVID-19 to provide education, support and healthy food boxes to 758 of their neighbors. These boxes were distributed to those most in need through the Dig Local farmer's markets free of charge and in conjunction with program partners, the regional food bank, local elected officials and first responders. • Nursing and Nutrition students and Dietetic Interns had the opportunity to spend more 1641 hours alongside Neighbors for Nutrition participants, Registered Dietitians and other health professionals, helpingclients to choose foods in our client-choice food pantries and outreach operations. This experience gave them valuable first-hand person-to-person exposure to individual's food preferences and the unique challenges that low-income consumers face when trying to implement health related recommendations. • Community members in Mayport lobbied BEAM for the second "Mayport Market" location, which started at another local elementary school and served 185 families in its first month of operation, distributing more than seventy thousand pounds of fresh produce, lean proteins and pantry staples since then • BEAM, in conjunction with its partners, contributed local and institutional knowledge along with food to help the Mayport USO establish and grow its food pantry operation, supplying 127,000 pounds of food during the grant term
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Paths to Wellness covers all of our agency's service area including Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, with special attention to Mayport. In these beach communities of Jacksonville there is tremendous need to address critical issues affecting the food access of our low-income residents. In 2015 BEAM's programs reached a total of 18,580 low income children and adults. Almost all BEAM clients live in households at 125% of the poverty level or below, many at the 100%level. They are predominantly Caucasian, about 25% African American, about 8% Hispanic (reflective of the local low-income population). 93% live in a family, typically an unemployed single parent supporting at least two children. Other significant groups include people with disabilities, the elderly including grandparents raising grandchildren, and families of active duty military. Our agency serves a portion of Jacksonville, the largest U. S. city in terms of square mileage. Jacksonville is spread over 3 counties, including Duval County where BEAM is located. According to the US Census Bureau the poverty rate in 2014 for Duval County was 18.2%, while the Florida rate was 15.7% and the US rate was 13.5%in that same year. Duval County had a food insecurity rate of 20.1% in 2014 while Florida's rate was 16.2% and the US rate was 14.7%. [1] Increasing access to affordable food in Mayport, one of our most impoverished neighborhoods, is a major program goal. Mayport, Florida is one of Jacksonville's most impoverished neighborhoods, but is often overlooked in food policy discussions due to its proximity to wealthy coastal neighborhoods and to Naval Station Mayport. In fact, Mayport zip code 32227 has one of the highest poverty rates in Northeast Florida at 19%, compared to the national rate of 14.7%.[2], [3] Naval Station Mayport is a major influence on the surrounding area. Currently 55 ships operate out of this Base, requiring over 14,000 active duty personnel and hundreds of civilian support staff. About 30% of our Mayport Pantry clients are active duty and retired military families. Lack of affordable, safe housing and limited family incomes make it difficult for many military families to put healthy food on the table in this area. The median household income for this area is $35,536, about 75% of that for surrounding Duval County, $49,196. Its poverty rate is 20% higher than the rest of Duval County, with 29% of Mayport's children under 18 living below the poverty line. In addition, education is low, the college education rate is 9.4% obtaining at least a Bachelor's degree, about only one third of the rate in the remainder of Jacksonville (27.1%) and Duval County ( 28.1%).[2], [3] The Mayport area is a USDA designated food desert, meaning that this low-income census tract has a significant number of residents that are more than one mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket and lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables and other foods that make up a healthy diet. This is also an area designated low vehicle access, meaning that more than 100 households have no access to a vehicle and are more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket.[4] Geographically, Mayport is on a semi-rectangular peninsula sandwiched between the St John's River, Intercoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean, which limits access to and from the area to travel lengthwise along a busy throughway to the Naval Station. The lack of an adequate Jacksonville public transportation system also limits access to needed resources for many low-income residents. As an example, from Mayport, it can take between 1 ½ and 2 hours to travel by bus (the only form of city-wide public transportation) to key employment and service organizations located downtown or in widely-spread office parks. The combination of no grocery store or effective mass or personal transit, unsafe walking conditions, a significant portion of the population below poverty level and high chronic disease rates is a one-two punch for the health and quality of life of the residents of this historic fishing village. Avoiding poverty in Jacksonville's other beach communities is also challenging. As you move away from the ocean and its expensive condos, many streets rapidly deteriorate. Small, old single-family homes in disrepair, house trailers, and run-down multi-unit rentals are common. Affordable housing is very limited here and rental rates are rising faster than in other parts of Jacksonville and the rest of the country. The Jacksonville area is now among the top 20 U.S. cities in terms of rising apartment rental rates.[5] In 2016 our area's rental rates are predicted to rise another 4.3%, a trend we clearly see playing out in the beaches area. In recent years foreclosures in areas like Neptune Beach have been well above national averages. Numerous recent studies confirm the many negative effects on health that accompany poverty and food insecurity. For instance, food insecure people must often choose between purchasing food and medicine[6], between purchasing food and visiting a doctor[7], or between buying low cost food and buying more expensive food for a medical condition like diabetes[8].In 2016, 65.4% of overall Duval county residents were overweight or obese, compared to 63.2% in the state of Florida. Of those with minimal education levels like our selected population, the rate was even higher at 67.5%. In terms of the most common nutrition related chronic conditions, 9.8 % of county residents have a history of acute cardiovascular events, 11.3%and 34% have been told they have diabetes or hypertension. Less than 50% of adults in Duval County are sufficiently active to meet health recommendations.[9] According to FNEFL Hunger in America 2014, 37% of local food insecure households have at least one member with diabetes, 35% have a member with high blood pressure. With limited funds, food tradeoffs in spending are common. Sixty-eight percent of household's report choosing between paying for food and paying for medical care or medicines in the past year, 34% must make this choice monthly. Sixty-nine percent of households reported choosing between food or transportation in the last year, 45% face this choice monthly.[10] [1] C. Gundersen, W. Elaine, E. Engelhard, T. Del Vecchio, and A. Satoh, "Map the Meal Gap 2015 Highlights of Findings for Overall and Child Food Insecurity," 2015. [2] "Census profile: Census Tract 139.04, Duval, FL," vol. 2018, no. Feb 2015. [3] United States Census Bureau, "American Factfinder - Community Facts," vol. 2018, no. Feb 2015. [4] United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, "Food Security in the U.S. Measurement," vol.2017, no. Sept 24. [5] G. Marcus and W. Millichap, "Marcus & Millichap - real estate investment services, national investment and commercial real estate.," 2015. [Online]. Available: www.marcusmillichap.com. [Accessed: 22-Nov-2015]. [6] S. A. Berkowitz et al., "Material need insecurities, control of diabetes mellitus, and use of health care resources results of the measuring economic insecurity in diabetes study," JAMA Intern. Med., 2015. [7] C. T. Ma, L. Gee, and M. B. Kushel, "Associations Between Housing Instability and Food Insecurity with Health Care Access in Low-Income Children," Ambul. Pediatr., 2008. [8] H. K. Seligman, J. Tschann, E. A. Jacobs, A. Fernandez, and A. López, "Food insecurity and glycemic control among low-income patients with type 2 diabetes," Diabetes Care, 2012. [9] "FlHealthCharts: Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set," 2018. [10] "Hunger in America 2014: National Report." 2014 Changes/Problems:Major challenges faced by the program and how we adapted to those changes: The attempt to start a weekly Farmer's Market near Mayport Naval Station did not succeed with the proposed design and partners due partially to modest sales related to poor site selection and market timing along with weather fluctuations. Our original market was held on Friday afternoons to coincide with the end of the workday at Naval Station Mayport and did well to start, but then attendance slowed in the heat of summer. Fewer farmers participated as a result, and the market was discontinued. In addition, the partner organization managing the area markets, Dig Local, suffered a leadership crisis, forcing the dissolution of the board of directors. In the interim, we continued our market outreach efforts at the Atlantic Beach Farmer's Market, located less than two miles from the original Mayport site and the Saturday Beaches Green market, within five miles of the original site. The Program Director now volunteers on the Dig Local board of directors, working closely with the board president to ensure the continued operation of the markets and the strategic development of a market in the Mayport neighborhood. Dig Local is currently negotiating with the City of Atlantic Beach on a proposed permanent market space to support our farmers and to provide fresh, local foods to the residents of Mayport and our military families stationed at Mayport. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• Our Neighbors for Nutrition program allowed 10 successful nutrition therapy patients to serve as shopping guides in our foodservice outreach, working together with Registered Dietitians, nutrition and nursing students/interns and other community volunteers to advise 768 shoppers on food choices to improve their health and well being • Nursing and Nutrition students and Dietetic Interns had the opportunity to spend more 1641 hours alongside Registered Dietitians and other health professionals, helping other community members to choose foods in our client-choice food pantries and outreach operations. This experience gave them valuable first-hand person-to-person exposure to individual's food preferences and the unique challenges that low-income consumers face when trying to implement health related recommendations. 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?Plans for the next reporting period include: PD continuing to serve on the board of directors of our community partner, Dig Local, to promote market sales and to facilitate the establishment of a permanent farmer's market space in Mayport as part of the Atlantic Beach City Mayport Visioning Project. PD advising Mayport Naval Station USO leadership on best practices and design considerations as they prepare for expansion of their food pantry operations and construction of a new, dedicated 3,000 sf facility. Organizational construction of new offices at our Mayport location to expand our financial services offerings and dedicate more resources to SNAP enrollment in the Mayport area. Scientifically valid validation of effectiveness of the developed Diabetes Self Management and farmer's market curriculum, with the intent of program replication and distribution of findings to community, agricultural and healthcare stakeholders. Assisting Feeding Northeast Florida with it's "Healthy Choices Nudge Initiative", a pilot nutrition education intervention to increase produce consumption among food assistance recipients, collecting data on change in behaviors with and without cooking and food tasting "nudges" in our food pantries.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Significant accomplishments were achieved during this reporting period as a result of our project included prescriptive, preventative and public health nutrition services and outreach events and products. Our Paths to Wellness program improved access to evidence-based nutrition information and to fresh, nutritious foods for thousands of our low-income neighbors in the Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Mayport areas. • 3773 people stopped by our booths at the Farmer's Markets to taste test seasonal produce recipes and learn how to choose, store and prepare the fresh produce being sold by the local farmers at the market, an increase of 300% over last year • 4384 local residents had the opportunity to purchase local fresh produce from local farmers at our Dig Local farmer's markets using SNAP match dollars for two for one produce, an increase of 260% over last year • 630 local residents received assistance in applying or recertifying for SNAP benefits • 95 cooking demonstrations were conducted by our Registered Dietitian in our food pantries, mobile food pantries and outreach locations • Our Neighbors for Nutrition program allowed 10 successful nutrition therapy patients to serve as shopping guides in our foodservice outreach, working together with Registered Dietitians, nutrition and nursing students/interns and other community volunteers to advise 768 fellow community members on food choices to improve their health and well being • 130 nutrition counseling sessions were conducted for patients referred from local medical providers for treatment of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension • 46 patients treated for nutrition related diseases made significant progress on knowledge, attitudinal, behavioral and/or clinical measures • 956 food pantry visits were conducted in which a client or patient at risk for nutrition related illness could shop for foods and receive advice from a trained nutrition advocate from the community, a nutrition specialist or a Registered Dietitian • > 1000 people were exposed to nutrition education messaging and provided with supplementary foods throughout Mobile Food Pantry outreach program • > 1700 families in the food desert area of Mayport, Florida were able to obtain free fresh produce and pantry staples at more than 17 mobile food pantry events, "Mayport Markets", held at the local elementary school on early release days • Community members in Mayport lobbied BEAM for another "Mayport Market" location, which started at another local elementary school and served 185 families in its first month of operation at the end of this reporting period, distributing more than 6000 pounds of fresh produce, lean proteins and pantry staples • BEAM, in conjunction with its partners, contributed local and institutional knowledge along with food to help the Mayport USO establish and grow its food pantry operation, supplying 55,232 pounds of food during the reporting year, 726% more than the previous year • 7000 pounds of fresh produce was grown in our organic garden and supplied to our food panty and outreach clients, including Mayport Elementary School families • A monthly average of 91,000 pounds of food including fresh produce, pantry staples, quality proteins and whole grains were distributed to target audience members at our program related sites, including our own Jacksonville Beach and Mayport food pantries, Mayport Naval Station USO food pantry and Mayport and Finnegan Elementary Schools • Our "Better Choices" shelf labeling and food display system was expanded to our second food pantry to better assist clients and volunteers in choosing foods that benefit health and wellness • More than 6,000 pounds of food was distributed at "Beaches Health Jam", a local health fair in an underserved community, in collaboration with local medical providers, social services organizations and fraternal organizations
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Paths to Wellness covers all of our agency's service area including Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, with special attention to Mayport. In these beach communities of Jacksonville there is tremendous need to address critical issues affecting the food access of our low-income residents. In 2015 BEAM's programs reached a total of 18,580 low income children and adults. Almost all BEAM clients live in households at 125% of the poverty level or below, many at the 100% level. They are predominantly Caucasian, about 25% African American, about 8% Hispanic (reflective of the local low-income population). 93% live in a family, typically an unemployed single parent supporting at least two children. Other significant groups include people with disabilities, the elderly including grandparents raising grandchildren, and families of active duty military. Our agency serves a portion of Jacksonville, the largest U. S. city in terms of square mileage. Jacksonville is spread over 3 counties, including Duval County where BEAM is located. According to the US Census Bureau the poverty rate in 2014 for Duval County was 18.2%, while the Florida rate was 15.7% and the US rate was 13.5% in that same year. Duval County had a food insecurity rate of 20.1% in 2014 while Florida's rate was 16.2% and the US rate was 14.7%. [1] Increasing access to affordable food in Mayport, one of our most impoverished neighborhoods, is a major program goal. Mayport, Florida is one of Jacksonville's most impoverished neighborhoods, but is often overlooked in food policy discussions due to its proximity to wealthy coastal neighborhoods and to Naval Station Mayport. In fact, Mayport zip code 32227 has one of the highest poverty rates in Northeast Florida at 19%, compared to the national rate of 14.7%.[2], [3] Naval Station Mayport is a major influence on the surrounding area. Currently 55 ships operate out of this Base, requiring over 14,000 active duty personnel and hundreds of civilian support staff. About 30% of our Mayport Pantry clients are active duty and retired military families. Lack of affordable, safe housing and limited family incomes make it difficult for many military families to put healthy food on the table in this area. The median household income for this area is $35,536, about 75% of that for surrounding Duval County, $49,196. Its poverty rate is 20% higher than the rest of Duval County, with 29% of Mayport's children under 18 living below the poverty line. In addition, education is low, the college education rate is 9.4% obtaining at least a Bachelor's degree, about only one third of the rate in the remainder of Jacksonville (27.1%) and Duval County ( 28.1%).[2], [3] The Mayport area is a USDA designated food desert, meaning that this low-income census tract has a significant number of residents that are more than one mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket and lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables and other foods that make up a healthy diet. This is also an area designated low vehicle access, meaning that more than 100 households have no access to a vehicle and are more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket.[4] Geographically, Mayport is on a semi-rectangular peninsula sandwiched between the St John's River, Intercoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean, which limits access to and from the area to travel lengthwise along a busy throughway to the Naval Station. The lack of an adequate Jacksonville public transportation system also limits access to needed resources for many low-income residents. As an example, from Mayport, it can take between 1 ½ and 2 hours to travel by bus (the only form of city-wide public transportation) to key employment and service organizations located downtown or in widely-spread office parks. The combination of no grocery store or effective mass or personal transit, unsafe walking conditions, a significant portion of the population below poverty level and high chronic disease rates is a one-two punch for the health and quality of life of the residents of this historic fishing village. Avoiding poverty in Jacksonville's other beach communities is also challenging. As you move away from the ocean and its expensive condos, many streets rapidly deteriorate. Small, old single-family homes in disrepair, house trailers, and run-down multi-unit rentals are common. Affordable housing is very limited here and rental rates are rising faster than in other parts of Jacksonville and the rest of the country. The Jacksonville area is now among the top 20 U.S. cities in terms of rising apartment rental rates.[5] In 2016 our area's rental rates are predicted to rise another 4.3%, a trend we clearly see playing out in the beaches area. In recent years foreclosures in areas like Neptune Beach have been well above national averages. Numerous recent studies confirm the many negative effects on health that accompany poverty and food insecurity. For instance, food insecure people must often choose between purchasing food and medicine[6], between purchasing food and visiting a doctor[7], or between buying low cost food and buying more expensive food for a medical condition like diabetes[8]. In 2016, 65.4% of overall Duval county residents were overweight or obese, compared to 63.2% in the state of Florida. Of those with minimal education levels like our selected population, the rate was even higher at 67.5%. In terms of the most common nutrition related chronic conditions, 9.8 % of county residents have a history of acute cardiovascular events, 11.3% and 34% have been told they have diabetes or hypertension. Less than 50% of adults in Duval County are sufficiently active to meet health recommendations.[9] According to FNEFL Hunger in America 2014, 37% of local food insecure households have at least one member with diabetes, 35% have a member with high blood pressure. With limited funds, food tradeoffs in spending are common. Sixty-eight percent of household's report choosing between paying for food and paying for medical care or medicines in the past year, 34% must make this choice monthly. Sixty-nine percent of households reported choosing between food or transportation in the last year, 45% face this choice monthly.[10] [1] C. Gundersen, W. Elaine, E. Engelhard, T. Del Vecchio, and A. Satoh, "Map the Meal Gap 2015 Highlights of Findings for Overall and Child Food Insecurity," 2015. [2] "Census profile: Census Tract 139.04, Duval, FL," vol. 2018, no. Feb 25,. . [3] United States Census Bureau, "American FactFinder - Community Facts," vol. 2018, no. Feb 25,. . [4] United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, "Food Security in the U.S. Measurement," vol. 2017, no. Sept 24,. . [5] G. Marcus and W. Millichap, "Marcus & Millichap - real estate investment services, national investment and commercial real estate.," 2015. [Online]. Available: www.marcusmillichap.com. [Accessed: 22-Nov-2015]. [6] S. A. Berkowitz et al., "Material need insecurities, control of diabetes mellitus, and use of health care resources results of the measuring economic insecurity in diabetes study," JAMA Intern. Med., 2015. [7] C. T. Ma, L. Gee, and M. B. Kushel, "Associations Between Housing Instability and Food Insecurity With Health Care Access in Low-Income Children," Ambul. Pediatr., 2008. [8] H. K. Seligman, J. Tschann, E. A. Jacobs, A. Fernandez, and A. López, "Food insecurity and glycemic control among low-income patients with type 2 diabetes," Diabetes Care, 2012. [9] "FlHealthCharts: Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set," 2018. [10] "Hunger in America 2014: National Report." 2014. Changes/Problems:Our efforts to start a weekly farmer's market in Mayport, Florida have been paused while our partner, Dig Local, revisits possible sites and days. Our original market was held on Friday afternoons to coincide with the end of the workday at Naval Station Mayport and did well to start, but then attendance slowed in the heat of summer. Fewer farmers participated as a result, and the market was discontinued after the daylight savings time change in the fall made it too dark for the market to continue at the site. As we work to resume the market at a different site and time, we have continued our farmer's market outreach efforts at the Atlantic Beach Farmer's Market, located less than two miles from the original Mayport site. 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?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Significant accomplishments were achieved during this reporting period as a result of our project included prescriptive, preventative and public health nutrition services and outreach events and products. Our Paths to Wellness program improved access to evidence-based nutrition information and to fresh, nutritious foods for thousands of our low income neighbors in the Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Mayport areas. 121 nutrition counseling sessions were conducted for patients referred from local medical providers for treatment of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension 168 food pantry visits were conducted in which a client or patient at risk for nutrition related illness could shop for foods and receive advice from a nutrition specialist or Registered Dietitian More than 400 people were exposed to nutrition education messaging and provided with supplementary foods through our Mobile Food Pantry outreach program 194 people stopped by our booths at the Farmer's Markets to taste test seasonal produce recipes and learn how to choose, store and prepare the fresh produce being sold by the local farmers at the market. At least 450 local residents were able to purchase local fresh produce from local farmers at our Dig Local farmer's markets using SNAP match dollars for two for one produce More than 1700 families in the food desert area of Mayport, Florida were able to obtain free fresh produce and pantry staples at more than 17 mobile food pantry events, "Mayport Markets", held at the local elementary school on early release days More than 200 local residents received assistance in applying or recertifying for SNAP benefits More than 8600 pounds of fresh produce was grown in our organic garden and supplied to our food panty and outreach clients, including Mayport Elementary School families An average of 25,000 pounds of food including fresh produce, pantry staples, quality proteins and whole grains were distributed at our Jacksonville Beach and Mayport food pantries A "Better Choices" shelf labeling and food display system was instituted at our food pantries to better assist clients and volunteers in choosing foods that benefit health and wellness More than 6,300 pounds of food was distributed at "Beaches Health Jam", a local health fair in an underserved community, in collaboration with local medical providers, social services organizations and fraternal organizations In Mayport, we partnered with our Feeding America affiliate, Feeding Northeast Florida, to facilitate the opening of a food pantry at the local USO office which serves all of Mayport Naval Station.The USO currently serves 50 military families monthly through Fleet and Family Readiness.We are working with them to provide an additional five to six hundred pounds of food weekly to provide to any active duty families who need it. Twice monthly, we provide eight to ten thousand pounds of food to a local church who distributes it to families in need in Mayport, Florida More than 200 cooking demonstrations were conducted by our Registered Dietitian in our food pantries, mobile food pantries and outreach locations 21 classes in Diabetes Prevention and Hypertension Management were conducted at our food pantries in Jacksonville Beach and Mayport in partnership with our local YMCA
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