Strategies and Lessons Learned from a Home Delivery Food Prescription Program for Older Adults

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Gerontology
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Food insecurity (FI) is a significant health concern, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Existing fresh food prescription programs (FFRx) often lack community input and theoretical grounding.
• Older adults are a vulnerable population facing challenges with food access and healthy eating.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a community-informed, theory-based FFRx on food insecurity among older adults.
• To assess changes in fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, depression, and loneliness.
• To determine the effectiveness of a novel FFRx model in an academic medical center setting.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 31 older adults participating in a FFRx delivery program.
• Utilized the Capabilities, Opportunities, Motivations, and Behaviors (COM-B) framework and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).
• Collected survey data at six-month intervals to measure FI, FV intake, depression, and loneliness.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in food insecurity (average decrease of 2.03 points, p < .001).
• Modest increase in fruit and vegetable intake (from 2.8 to 2.9 servings/day, p = .53).
• Stable scores for depression and loneliness throughout the intervention period.

Conclusions:

• The FFRx program, developed in partnership with community stakeholders and guided by behavioral science frameworks, successfully reduced food insecurity in older adults.
• Preliminary findings suggest FFRx is a viable strategy for addressing FI in this population.
• Further research is warranted to optimize FV intake and explore long-term health outcomes.