FeedMore WNY
Buffalo, New York
This project seeks to prove the case of ‘food as medicine’ and to demonstrate significant impacts on health outcomes through a combination of nutritious food, nutrition education and tracking of health behaviors and outcomes.
Funded Program
Rooted in Evidence grantee, FeedMore WNY, is using grant funds for their Food Farmacy. The Food Farmacy is an innovative way to connect participants in the healthcare network with nutrition education, access to healthy food and the tracking, tips and support necessary to truly accomplish behavior change. This new program is managed by FeedMore WNY in partnership with Catholic Health System and D’Youville College, and is located on the D’Youville campus on the impoverished west side of Buffalo.
The Food Farmacy serves those identified as food insecure and referred from Catholic Health’s campus-based primary care, other in-need participants from the local community and D’Youville students. All participants have access to the same nutrition education, regular appointments with a dietitian, tracking of and feedback on key health metrics, quarterly incentives for participation in programming and consistent access to healthy food. Participants get an assortment of fresh, healthy food every two weeks, including both perishable and non-perishable options.
Q&A with FeedMore WNY’s Food Farmacy Dietician Katie Morris and D’Youville College Associate Dean of Health Professions Megan Whelan:
What about the Food Farmacy excites you most?
The uniqueness of the program and potential impact to both the community and students is quite exciting. There has been a huge need for food access points on the west side of Buffalo, and we are so happy that we can serve the community and also work to strengthen the relationship between D’Youville, Catholic Health, FeedMore WNY and our neighbors in need.
This program has helped to facilitate some amazing partnerships. Through the Food Farmacy, not only are we engaging nutrition professionals, but also students are involved in data collection, follow-up assessments and volunteering for the food pantry.
What will data collection entail over the next few months?
We are collecting surveys every three months – including behavioral change, program satisfaction, food security status and health perceptions. Additionally, we are tracking key health metrics of our participants, including: BMI, blood pressure, motion/balance test, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) levels.
How has the Gretchen Swanson Center’s evaluation expertise and technical assistance benefited your organization so far?
The Gretchen Swanson Center has been amazing. The team has been extremely available and responsive, and provides a lot of support. The continual check-ins where we can meet with other grantees who are having similar experiences helps us to learn from each other. The team has been vital in survey development and helping us to hone in on data we are trying to collect.
What are you hoping to learn from the evaluation? How do you plan to use the results?
We are excited to learn if what we are providing is a valuable program, and how we can change or modify it in the future to make sure we are having a positive impact on the community we are serving.
About Feed More WNY
FeedMore WNY offers dignity, hope and a brighter future by providing nutritious food, friendship and skills training to its Western New York neighbors in need. Through its food bank distribution center and partner hunger-relief agencies, as well as its home-delivered meal program and other targeted feeding programs, FeedMore WNY alleviates hunger and assists community members of all ages throughout Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties. More information can be found at feedmorewny.org.
Mission: To offer dignity, hope, and a brighter future by providing nutritious food, friendship, and skills training to our Western New York neighbors in need.