Promoting Inclusion and Bridging the Food Security Gap in Marion, Ohio

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Submission Date: June 2017

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Ohio

States/Territories Involved: Ohio

Funding Source: CDC, NACDD

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

Other CDC Funding

Domain Addressed:

Environmental Approaches

Public Health Issue:

  • Marion County, Ohio, has many challenges when it comes to healthy eating, including the following:
    • Three-quarters of adults and 85% of children report eating fewer than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
    • Marion County’s rating on the Food Environment Index is 5.8 (0 indicates worst; 10 indicates best). This index considers healthy food access and food insecurity as indicators of the food environment.
    • A little over a third of west-side and almost half of north-end residents live below the federal poverty level
  • The 2015 Marion County Health Assessment indicates that 17% of the county’s population has a disability, a population group that has higher rates of obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases than people without disabilities.

Program Action:

  • Marion Public Health participated in NACDD’s disability inclusion healthy community pilot project by working with healthy community partners to launch a mobile produce pantry.
  • The partners selected distribution sites in locations that would reach those most adversely affected by poor health outcomes, using community data and the USDA Food Access Research Map and considered ways to make the project accessible to people with disabilities.

Impact/Accomplishments:

  • Marion County now has its first mobile food pantry which is helping to increase healthy food access, reduce food insecurity, and integrate people with disabilities into a community-wide solution.
  • Though the pantry system is still in the pilot stage, over 100 families, including 25 individuals living with disabilities, receive healthy food on a biweekly basis.
  • A secondary goal for the mobile pantry was to include people with disabilities in the implementation, a goal that results in people with disabilities gaining work skills that aid them in future employment and volunteering. Workers with disabilities show their satisfaction with the work experience through repeat participation.
  • In one month, pantry participation grew by more than 50%, improving geographic availability of healthy food for underserved and vulnerable populations.

Program Areas:

Health Equity and Cultural Competency, Healthy Communities (general)

State Contact Information:

OH
Erin Creeden
Marion Public Health
740-692-9128
ecreeden@marionpublichealth.org

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