Evaluating the Impact of the GVFB’s Food Hubs Programs on Dietary Intake and Food Security
Project Team
Jennifer Black, Associate Professor, Department of Food, Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Land and Food Systems (PI)
Scott Lear, Professor Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Fraser Valley
Hannah Wittman, Professor, Academic Director, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Community Partners: Aart Schuurman Hess and Darlene Seto from the Greater Vancouver Food Bank
Funding
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
About the Project
Each week, 28,000 people rely on food from the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society (GVFB) to help feed their families. Yet, we do not know much about people who come to food banks, including what health issues they face, what makes it difficult for them to eat a healthy diet or how food banks can help them improve their health. GVFB is now changing how they work by providing food that is more nutritious and inviting members to choose their own foods, instead of handing out a set basket of foods. We partnered with GVFB to help better understand the experiences of the members using Vancouver food banks and to inform GVFB’s strategies to improve the quality and impacts of their work.
External Links and Publications
Holmes E, Black JL, Seto D, Fowokan A, Lear SA. Examining food insecurity among food bank members in Greater Vancouver. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. 2018.1-14. Doi: 10.1080/19320248.2018.1465001
Fowokan, A, Black JL, Holmes E, Seto D, Lear SA. Examining risk factors for cardiovascular disease among food bank members in Vancouver. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2018. 10, 359-362. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.04.015
Holmes E, Black J, Heckelman A, Lear SA, Seto D, Fowokan A, Wittman H. Nothing is going to change three months from now”: a mixed methods characterization of food bank use in Greater Vancouver. Social Science & Medicine. 2018 200:129-136. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.01.029. See a recent story about this in the Vancouver Courier.
Banner Photo Credit: Greater Vancouver Food Bank