An investigative look at food availability, food access, and food use among the aging population using a small sample population in Harlem, New York.

1. Melinda Garcia
COMHE 413
Dec. 11th 2014
FOOD SECURITY
AND
THE AGING POPULATION

3.  Corbin Hill Food Project (CHFP) is a network of rural farms
and urban communities in New York
 Created by residents of Harlem and the Bronx to bring fresh produce
to low-income communities
 Community organizations host Farm Share distributions once a week
 Farmers from upstate Schoharie County produce fruits and
vegetables for the Farm Share
CORBIN HILL FOOD PROJECT

4. Each season, local fruits and vegetables are
delivered to shareholders who pay to receive
freshly harvested produce
 CHFP is designed to serve low -income
communities
 Offer flexible membership terms and
affordable prices
 Distribution sites in the Bronx, Washington
Heights, Harlem, Queens, and East New
York
 Conduct community outreach (i.e. cooking
demonstrations, nutrition workshops, and
events)
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE

5.  CHFP was located at Founder and
President Dennis Derryck's home
on 119 West 120th Street, New
York, NY 10027
 Relocated in the Bronx on 370 East
149th Street, Bronx, 10455
 Over 15 distribution sites in the
South Bronx, Washington Heights,
and Harlem
 Now distribute to sites in Queens
and East New York
CORBIN HILL FOOD PROJECT

6. THE INTERNS

7. FOOD BANK FOR NYC COMMUNITY
KITCHEN & FOOD PANTRY
 Implemented an garden program for senior
citizens residing in Harlem
 Worked alongside the Associate Director
of Community Nutrition
 Maintained garden and assisted seniors with
gardening, harvesting, and packaging foods for
the Food Bank
 Tomatoes, stevia, basil, cilantro, and mint
 Created and facilitated nutrition and wellness
workshops
 Supervised weekly walks to the local farmer’s
market
 Attended NYC DOHMH cooking
demonstrations
 Assisted the CHFP Community Organizer with
weekly farm share distributions

8. HERB & VEGETABLE GARDEN

9. CHFP FARM SHARE

10. FOOD SECURITY
 Food security is based on three
fundamentals…
 Food availability – the quantity
and frequency of food made
available to individuals
 Food access – the ability to
obtain an adequate and
nutritious meal
 Food use – appropriate use of
food based on knowledge of
nutrition and hygiene

11.  Food diversity among elderly population residing in Tosa,
Kochi, Prefecture, Japan
 Kimura et al. found that food diversity was closely associated with
overall quality of life, daily activities, and mental health
 Age and food diversity were inversely related – as an individual’s age
increased, diversity in their diet decreased
 Change in nutrient and food intake with age
 Zhu et al. concluded nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins declined with age.
 Decrease in nutrient intake was especially high for elderly women
BACKGROUND

12.  Effectiveness of food education programs in Hong Kong
 Chung et al. concluded that low-income elderly will opt for low-cost
foods, often times sacrificing proper nutrition for price.
 Seniors with limited knowledge of nutrition tend to find cooking to be
a difficult task, frequently purchasing already prepared foods
 Elderly men with somatic disease and their food-related
activities.
 Kullberg et al. found that cooking was often times referred to as a
chore and among men, found to be a gendered activity
 Men reported a desire to lead independent lives, asking for as little
help was possible when completing tasks
 Despite cooking being thought of as a gendered task, older women
are at a much higher risk than men for poor nutrition and food
insecurity, due largely to financial dependency.
BACKGROUND

13. NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION
EXAMINATION SURVEY (NHANES)
 Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS)
 Combines interview and physical
examinations to record and assess
the health and nutritional status of
individuals in the United States
 Data collected from 2009-2010
 Food Security section
 10,538 participants
 1,523 Adults 65 years and older

14. NHANES: GENDER

15. NHANES: RACE AND ETHNICITY
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Race/Ethnicity (65 years or older)
Mexican American
Other Hispanic
Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic Black
Other/Multi-Racial

16. NHANES: WORRIED THEY WOULD RUN
OUT OF FOOD
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Worried (65 years or older)
Don't Know Refused Never True Sometimes True Often True

17. NHANES: COULDN’T AFFORD BALANCED
MEALS
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Couldn’t Afford (65 years or older)
Often True Sometimes True Never True Refused Don't Know

18. NHANES: EAT LESS THAN THEY SHOULD
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Eat Less Than Should (65 years or
older)
Missing Don't Know #REF! No Yes

19. AARP: FOOD INSECURITY AMONG OLDER
ADULTS (2011)
 Emphasize 50-59 age cohort because they do not have access to
an age-specific welfare programs
 Family incomes below 200% and below 300% of the poverty line
 Uses survey data from the 2001-2009 Current Population Survey
(CPS), and the 1999-2008 the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES)
 Nationally representative data with the full set of 18 questions on the
Core Food Security Module (CFSM)
 Three characterizations of food insecurity:
 marginally food insecure; food insecure, and very low food secure

20. AARP: FOOD INSECURITY PREVALENCE
BY STATE

21. AARP: FOOD INSECURITY AND AGE

22. AARP: FOOD INSECURITY, AGE, AND
POVERTY

23. AARP: FOOD INSECURITY, AGE, AND
RACE/ETHNICITY

24.  Absence in research concerning food security among seniors and
risk factors
 Measure food assistance programs and their availability in low-
income neighborhoods and communities with large elderly
populations
 More research on food accessibility for aging population
 Improve interventions and preventative measures
GAPS IN RESEARCH

25. 1. World Health Organization. Food security. Trade, foreign
policy, diplomacy and health > Glossary of globalization,
trade and health terms Web site.
http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/.
Published 2014. Updated 2014.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). About the national
health and nutrition examination survey.National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey Web site.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/about_nhanes.htm.
Published February 3. 2014. Updated 2014. Accessed
November 20, 2014.
3. Gundersen, C Ziliak, JP. Food insecurity among older
adults. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
2011.
REFERENCES

26. 1. Kimura Y, Wada T, Ishine M, et al. Food diversity is closely
associated with activities of daily living, depression, and
quality of life in community-dwelling elderly people. J Am
Geriatr Soc. 2009;57(5):922-4.
REFERENCES