Pathways to Food Security
We connect clients with food security resources that will be there for them when they need it, and support them in identifying barriers to accessing those resources in the future.
As part of Screen & Intervene, a new Oregon initiative led by the Oregon Food Bank and Providence Health & Services, families with young children are screened during annual checkups for “food insecurity” and will be connected with resources like Impact NW to help in the short and long term.
Screen & Intervene offers healthcare staff, dental and behavioral health workers two nationally used and validated screening questions and options for administering them.
The idea behind the program is to connect clients/patients with resources that will be there for them when they need it, and to support them in identifying barriers to accessing those resources so that in the future they will be equipped with tools and resources for getting their needs met.
Between Impact NW and the partnering resource navigation agency Familias en Acción, the program has served almost 50 families since October 2014, which is double their original goal.
Food security resources include but are not limited to: Meals 4 Kids through Meals on Wheels People, the Oregon Food Bank, SNAP, Haute Mealz, and The Turkey Project. Meals 4 Kids provides food delivery for families who have barriers to meal preparation, transportation, or other barriers that hold them back from giving their children consistent and nutritious meals.
Impact NW supports two participating Providence clinics: