Serving Up FLAN. A Food Literacy and Nutrition Intervention to Fend Off Food Insecurity

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Food insecurity disproportionately affects Hispanic-Latinx individuals in the U.S.
• Older Latinx adults face significant socioeconomic and health disadvantages.
• There is a critical need for sustainable interventions to combat food insecurity in this population.

Approach:

• A pilot study evaluated the Food Literacy and Nutrition (FLAN) curriculum, a bilingual and culturally tailored program.
• The study utilized data from a sub-study of the COMPASS Trial, a 12-month cluster-randomized controlled trial.
• Interventions included the FLAN curriculum versus a nutrition information-only control group.

Key Points:

• The FLAN intervention was associated with decreased odds of food insecurity at 12 months (AOR = 0.71, p = 0.03).
• No significant differences in daily fruit and vegetable servings were observed between groups.
• A negative correlation was found between changes in fruit/vegetable intake and changes in food insecurity.

Conclusions:

• The FLAN curriculum demonstrated a positive impact on food security in older Latinx adults over 12 months.
• This culturally tailored educational program shows potential for implementation among at-risk populations.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm these findings.