SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALpublic health, nutrition

cross-sectional·public health, nutrition, cardiology, epidemiology, family medicine·PMC10609710

Food Is Medicine for Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Findings from a Participatory Soup Kitchen Menu Redesign

Nutrients · 7 authors, 6 centres

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TL;DR

This study used surveys and menu analysis to identify nutrition needs of soup kitchen guests experiencing homelessness and tested a new, healthier menu.

Full summary

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This community-based participatory research study employed a two-phase approach to assess and improve nutrition for people experiencing homelessness. Surveys revealed high self-reported prevalence of depressive disorders (50.9%) and cardiovascular diseases (49.1), with strong guest desire for more fruits and vegetables. The standard menu analysis showed average daily calories of 1730, with excess sodium and saturated fat, and deficiencies in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The study concludes that hunger safety net providers can address critical nutrition needs through strategic menu changes, but notes limitations including a convenience sample, reliance on self-reported data, and lack of longitudinal health outcome measures.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10609710

Food Is Medicine for Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Findings from a Participatory Soup Kitchen Menu Redesign

Nutrients

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ABSTRACT

Health disparities among people experiencing homelessness are likely exacerbated by limited access to healthy, fresh, and minimally processed foods. Soup kitchens and shelters serve as essential food safety nets for preventing hunger in this population, and community interest is growing in the potential of “food is medicine” interventions to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of people who receive meals from these providers. This study describes our two-phase approach to first identify and prioritize nutrition needs within an urban soup kitchen community and then test and implement new recipes and menu guidelines to help the standard soup kitchen menu better align with those priorities. We began by first conducting a nutrition needs assessment, including a collection of intercept surveys from a convenience sample of soup kitchen guests to better understand their nutrition-related health needs, dental issues, food preferences, and menu satisfaction (n = 112), as well as a nutrition analysis of the standard menu based on seven randomly selected meals. Most respondents reported at least one chronic health condition, with depressive disorders (50.9%) and cardiovascular diseases (49.1%) being the most common. Nearly all guests requested more fruits and vegetables at mealtimes, and results from the menu analysis revealed opportunities to lower meal contents of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars and to raise micronutrient, fiber, and omega-3 content. We then applied these nutrition needs assessment findings to inform the second phase of the project. This phase included the identification of new food inventory items to help support cardiovascular and mental health-related nutrition needs, taste test sampling of new healthy menu items with soup kitchen guests, and hands-on culinary medicine training to kitchen staff on newly-developed “food is medicine” guidelines to support menu transformation. All taste tests of new menu items received over 75% approval, which exceeded satisfaction ratings of the standard menu collected during the phase 1 needs assessment. Findings from this community-based participatory research project confirm the great potential for hunger safety net providers to support critical nutrition needs within this vulnerable population through strategic menu changes. However, more research is needed on the longitudinal impacts of such changes on health indicators over time.

CITATION EXPORT

Marianna S. Wetherill, Lacey T. Caywood, Nicholas Hollman et al.. Food Is Medicine for Individuals Affected by Homelessness: Findings from a Participatory Soup Kitchen Menu Redesign. Nutrients. (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15204417

AUTHORS

7 · 6 CENTRES

Marianna S. Wetherill, Lacey T. Caywood, Nicholas Hollman, Valarie P. Carter, Joshua Gentges, Ashli Sims, Carrie Vesely Henderson

1Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Tulsa Schusterman Center, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA
2Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA
3OU Culinary Medicine Program, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA; [email protected]
4Office of Research Development and Scholarly Activity, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA; [email protected]
5Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA; [email protected]
6Iron Gate, Tulsa, OK 74103, USA; [email protected] (A.S.); [email protected] (C.V.H.)

EDITOR / REVIEWER

David Miles Eisenberg, Susan M Schembre