Date of Award
Summer 2022
Document Type
Project – Full Written
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Committee Chair
Melissa McNeilly
Abstract
Background: Prior research has indicated a varying relationship between food security and obesity risk. Food insecurity is a known complication of men and women’s underlying health issues, such as hypertension and diabetes, because of altered food choices.
Objective: Provide healthier food options to the food insecure within the facility’s food distribution boxes, as available, for the two most common health issues (diabetes and high blood pressure).
Methods: Clients at a local food pantry were interviewed individually to learn more about food insecurity and complicating health issues, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure (hypertension) while simultaneously offering alternative food box options.
Results: Over half of the participants self-reported being previously told by a health care professional they should lose weight, have hypertension, and/or have diabetes. Fifty-two percent of the project participants choose a customized food box for hypertension or diabetes.
Conclusion: A need exists in this population for food based on the chronic health issues of diabetes and hypertension. In the future, ensuring the nutritional quality of donated food is an important consideration to build the needed boxes for the population served.
Recommended Citation
Shoaf, Elizabeth, "Thinking Inside the Food Pantry Box" (2022). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 57.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/nursing-dnp/57
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License