CHSU Discovery

Introduction 

Food insecurity is limited access to nutritious and safe foods. As a response to food insecurity in Merced, Golden Valley Health Center (GVHC) has created their Food Pharmacy to address food insecurity and provide clients with food boxes in the Central Valley. If they identify as food insecure, clients are given a prescription to visit the Food Pharmacy and receive a parcel of non-perishable foods, such as rice, canned vegetables, and boxed milk products. To understand the effectiveness of food pharmacies, it is crucial to ask participants regarding usage of the Food Pharmacy, difficulties in obtaining food, and their demographics. Therefore, we have created a survey to further understand how clients perceive and utilize the Food Pharmacy. Over time, we expect to analyze a reduction in food insecurity after visiting the Food Pharmacy and will identify relationships between demographics, food usage, and attendance of the program. This is an achievable goal within the year given the resources available by the clinics. 

Materials and Methods 

The Golden Valley Health Center Food Pharmacy Survey consists of 9 questions that allow patients to choose between a range of options to best describe their situation. Additionally, an open-ended question will allow participants to express preferences for specific food items they would like to see in the Food Pharmacy. Likert scales will also be employed to collect quantitative data on patients' experiences with the program across multiple visits, providing insights into both collective and individual patient experiences over time.  

Retrieving patient demographics, such as ethnicity and household size, enables us to categorize de-identified patients and find relationships between sociodemographic factors and risk of food insecurity. The GVHC Food Pharmacy site will administer the survey via Microsoft Forms accessed via QR code. An alternative physical paper copy of the survey will be provided if patients are unable to access the Microsoft Forms. Data analysis consists of qualitative variables such as race, socioeconomic status, and food insecurity status before receiving a food pharmacy donation box.    

This study is designed as a longitudinal assessment of patients’ dependency on the Food Pharmacy program and their experiences with the service over time. Convenience sampling will be used to gather responses with the goal of receiving 100 survey responses. Prior to participation, patients will be informed about the study's purpose and how their responses will be used. Informed consent will be obtained to ensure ethical compliance. 

Next Steps/Future Plans 

In the next phase of the project, surveys will be distributed using various methods to ensure the accessibility of the population. The collected data will be used to assess the program’s impact on participants' lives and improving food insecurity while enhancing strategies to address gaps effectively.  

Conclusion 

Overall, using our specifically tailored survey, we hope to gain a better understanding of the use and efficacy of Golden Valley Health Center’s Food Pharmacy program in a variety of demographics. With that data, there is a potential to improve the current program and eventually expand to other sites in the future.