Parent-friendly mobile pantry program could protect children from obesity, study shows

According to recent research by paediatricians from Columbia University’s Vagelos Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, Food FARMacias, a mobile food pantry initiative, might be part of the answer to the nation’s rising food insecurity problem. The Food FARMacia program—a mobile food pantry that let parents choose their own selection of free and nutritious foods—was linked to lower food insecurity in families and had a quantifiable influence on children’s health by lowering childhood obesity risk factors. This is the first study to show that directly supplying children with fresh and healthful foods in food-insecure homes protects against childhood obesity. Paediatricians frequently recommend parents of food-insecure families to government nutrition programmes, but enrolment criteria and red tape mean that many families are dismissed from the programmes. To address the issue, hospitals and health care groups have developed a number of innovative initiatives that connect families to resources, educate them about healthy eating, and distribute food or food vouchers. It is critical to assess programmes in order to identify the most successful treatments.

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