Home Food Delivery to Address Food Insecurity Following Hospital Discharge.

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Food insecurity affects nearly 20% of US families with children.
• Child hospitalization can worsen food insecurity for families.
• Existing hospital support for food insecurity is limited, especially post-discharge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess enrollment, family preferences, feasibility, and acceptability of an Inpatient Food Pharmacy program.
• To address the gap in post-hospitalization food support for pediatric patients.
• To evaluate a novel intervention for pediatric food insecurity.

Main Methods:

• Developed an Inpatient Food Pharmacy offering post-discharge meals and/or produce.
• Recruited 120 eligible families, with 71 (59%) enrolling.
• Tracked program delivery, family preferences, and conducted follow-up calls.

Main Results:

• 59% of eligible families enrolled, with 77% preferring both meals and produce.
• The program delivered 6972 meals and 348 produce boxes over 10 months.
• All surveyed families reported their acute food needs were met; the program was deemed acceptable.

Conclusions:

• The Inpatient Food Pharmacy is a feasible and acceptable model for addressing pediatric food insecurity post-hospitalization.
• The program successfully met immediate food needs for enrolled families.
• Advocacy for sustainable funding at institutional, state, and federal levels is planned to support such initiatives.