Preparing Medical Students to Address Food Insecurity in Their Patients Through a Service-Learning and Community...

Food insecurity (FI) in the United States is 13.5% and is increasing. FI impacts a person's ability to manage their chronic diseases and overall health. Limited studies explore the impacts of FI teaching interventions on medical students. This study examines a FI educational intervention on preclerkship medical students at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of USC and its impact on learner knowledge of FI resources and screening questions, comfort in FI counseling, and FI attitudes.

First- and second-year KSOM medical students participated in a service-learning activity in August 2024 and August 2025. They received a 30-min lecture on FI and a case. Students then participated in a 3.5-h service-learning experience at the Los Angeles Foodbank preparing food boxes. Students were surveyed immediately before the lecture/case, immediately post, and 1.5 months afterwards.

Findings showed that medical students increased their knowledge of FI resources, screening tools, and confidence in assessing patients for FI both immediately after the session and 1.5 months afterwards. Students were most commonly able to recall SNAP/Food Stamps/Cal Fresh/EBT (45%) and WIC (21%) when asked about FI patient resources. Students' attitudes towards FI also changed from baseline.

Training medical students to assess patients for FI and gain FI resources to help patients is critical to supporting the health and well-being of patients. This intervention showed promising results for increasing students' FI knowledge and confidence and can be used as a replicable model.