Date of Publication
2023
Abstract
Abstract
Background: The Winooski Food Shelf (WFS) provides bi-weekly food resources to ∼700 Winooski residents, many of whom are New Americans or recent immigrants. This project aims to understand the demographic composition and healthcare needs of WFS clients and assess how WFS addresses clients’ nutritional needs.
Methods: WFS clients 18 years or older were eligible to participate in this study. A survey, adopted from the Cornell-Radimer questionnaire for food insecurity was conducted in person on two occasions to collect demographic data of the food recipients and how well their food and healthcare needs were being met.
Results: Fifty-two out of 133 WFS clients between 21-74 years of age agreed to participate in the survey. In this analysis we found that as visitors age, they’re more likely to report not receiving enough food from the shelf (p=0.023) . There was a correlation between increasing age and establishment of personal healthcare (p=0.034). Conversely, total household size and the number of children in the home did not correlate with how respondents answered survey questions. Additionally, respondents who primarily identified as Nepali (p<0.001) and Karenic (p<0.001) speakers were less likely to report food insecurity or lack of healthcare establishment due to financial constraints.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest a need to address the nutritional needs of older WFS clients and to assess younger clients’ understanding of local healthcare access.
Advisor(s)
Karen George, MD
Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont
Linda Howe
Winooski Food Shelf
Subjects
Health Care Access and Quality, Nutrition and Healthy Eating, Public Health Infrastructure, Preventive Care
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Babb, Georgia A M; Fleming, Emma N.; George, Caroline R.; Hastings, Tyler J.; Hwang, Timothy; Lin, Christopher Q.; and Ludlow, Jason M., "Assessing Demographics and Needs of Rural Community-Based Food Shelf Consumers" (2023). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 337.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/337
