Implementing a Produce Prescription Program in Partnership With a Community Coalition

Across-Agency Partnerships and Within-Agency Capacities Facilitate Holistic, Tailored Approaches to Addressing Food Insecurity: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Capacity-oriented approaches have the potential to reduce food insecurity (FI) and promote nutrition and health equity in low-resource settings.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to identify multilevel capacities in San Diego County, CA that key informants from diverse food- and nutrition-related stakeholder agencies perceived to be helping to address FI.

DESIGN

Trained qualitative interviewers conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews (30-60 minutes) with key informants. The Socioecological Model and a capacity-oriented approach informed interview guides.

PARTICIPANTS/SETTING

Participants were key informants (n = 23) from diverse purposively sampled stakeholder agencies (n = 16) providing food or nutrition services and programs across San Diego County. Interviews were conducted between April 2019 and December 2021.

ANALYSES PERFORMED

Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and checked for accuracy. The research team conducted thematic content analysis to identify themes.

RESULTS

Two interrelated themes, within-agency capacities and across-agency partnerships, collectively appeared to influence each individual agency's ability to provide tailored, holistic care to their clients and, thus, expand each agency's reach and impact to address the 4 domains of food security (ie, quantity, quality, psychological, and social). Multilevel (ie, individual, interpersonal, organizational, and macro) within-agency human, social, and cultural capital (eg, volunteers, staff-client relationships, and cultural competency) positively influenced the reach and impact of the individual agencies by enabling them to provide clients with personalized, holistic care. Alongside within-agency capacities, multilevel (ie, interpersonal, organizational, community, and macro levels) across-agency partnerships allowed individual agencies to address FI more effectively and holistically by connecting clients to other services (eg, housing and mental health) related to the circumstances of FI.

CONCLUSIONS

In San Diego County, multilevel capacities in the form of within-agency capacities and across-agency partnerships collectively influenced the effectiveness of stakeholder agencies in addressing the 4 domains of FI among at-risk households. Future research should consider how to evaluate the impact of these existing capacities on FI.

The Role of Agricultural Systems in Teaching Kitchens: An Integrative Review and Thoughts for the Future

Diet-related chronic disease is a public health epidemic in the United States. Concurrently, conventional agricultural and food production methods deplete the nutritional content of many foods, sever connections between people and the origin of their food, and play a significant role in climate change. Paradoxically, despite an abundance of available food in the US, many households are unable to afford or attain a healthful diet. The linkages between agriculture, health, and nutrition are undeniable, yet conventional agriculture and healthcare systems tend to operate in silos, compounding these pressing challenges. Operating teaching kitchens in collaboration with local agriculture, including farms, community gardens, vertical farms, and urban agriculture, has the potential to catalyze a movement that emphasizes the role of the food system in promoting human and planetary health, building resilient communities, and encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration. This paper reviews the current state of agricultural systems, food is medicine, consumer behavior, and the roles within these sectors. This is followed by a series of case studies that fill the gaps between TKs and agriculture. The authors summarize opportunities to combine the knowledge and resources of teaching kitchens and agriculture programs, as well as challenges that may arise along the way.