The Food Insecurity Team (FIT) at UH: Evaluating Efficacy and Future Expansion

Abstract

Food insecurity is a problem worldwide, impacting the lives of individuals' in innumerable ways, including their health. With over 700,000 Houston residents and half of the Third Ward affected by food insecurity, the Food Insecurity Team (FIT) works to mitigate the effects of food insecurity in the local Third Ward community. Serving from the Riverside United Methodist Church (RUMC) food pantry, FIT sought to determine the efficacy of its service in limiting the effects of food insecurity and establish potential new methods to provide food resources to RUMC clients. Using an anonymous survey linked to FIT's monthly recipe cards, RUMC clients were asked questions regarding demographic information; their opinion of the food pantry's service and food quality and quantity; and their interest in a virtual platform that could provide food resources on days the food pantry was closed. The clients also were provided the option to supply their own suggestions as to the food resources they would find most desirable on a virtual platform. Upon data analysis, RUMC clients were satisfied with RUMC's and FIT's service and predominately were interested in using a virtual platform to obtain more food resources. In the future, FIT will work to develop an app or other virtual platform to provide community members with food and health resources, while still distributing traditional resources on paper to RUMC clients with little access to or familiarity with technology.Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, Department ofHonors Colleg