Written by Kimiko Dunbar
Spoon Feed
A home food delivery service after hospital discharge reduces food insecurity in the post-hospitalization period.
Meals on wheels 2.0
The study describes an innovative program to facilitate home food delivery after discharge for families with food insecurity. Families who expressed food insecurity during inpatient screening were offered a choice of 1 week of prepared meal delivery, 6 months of monthly fresh produce delivery or both. 120 families were identified as eligible, 71 of which enrolled. 77% of enrolled families chose both services, 18% prepared meals only and 4% produce delivery only. Follow-up calls were performed with 58% of the families, 100% of which reported that the service helped meet their acute food needs. This was performed at an institution with an existing food pharmacy program through primary care and a multidisciplinary healthy weight clinic that could be adapted to the inpatient setting. Implementation of the program required substantial resources including both paid and unpaid services; the total cost of and return on investments was not quantified in the study.
How will this change my practice?
This remarkable program delivered nearly 7,000 prepared meals to food insecure families, but unfortunately required intensive resources, including 3 private foundation grants and institutional community benefit spending. The goal of this study was to generate evidence to support post-hospital delivery services. While laudable, I worry about sustainability and broader expansion given the reliance on local infrastructure and funding. If future research can demonstrate impact on healthcare outcomes, perhaps governmental benefit programs might expand to help broaden this work.
Source
Home Food Delivery to Address Food Insecurity Following Hospital Discharge. Pediatrics. 2024 Dec 1;154(6):e2024068249. doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-068249. PMID: 39512075
