Essay: Community needs assessment (Chester County)

The goal and purpose of this community needs assessment is to promote healthy diets and weights by decreasing food security and hunger in our community. People with a healthy diet should be consuming a variety of nutrient-dense foods including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and lean meat protein sources. It is important to pay attention to intake of saturated and trans fat as well as cholesterol, added sugars, and sodium in our diets and limit them as much as possible. Good nutrition is important to the growth and development of children and is important for Americans to reduce their risks of many health conditions like obesity and diabetes. The three nutrition issues that need to be assed in our community is knowledge of nutrition education, food access and safety, and obesity.
Our community of Chester County has a population by race of about 441,675 white, 32,309 black, and 33,739 Hispanic/other races. The birth rate per 1,000 population is 11.1 and percent of low birth weight for white mother is 6.2% and African mothers is 10.7%. Chester County maintain its rural feel with 1,918 farms that contribute to the agricultural revenue of $333 million yearly. The average family size in Chester County is 3.18 people and median family income is about $88,164 with the unemployment rate being 6.2%.
The Chester County Food Bank is one of the largest community programs that was formed in 2009 to address the escalating hunger problem in the county. Their goal is to have a viable and sustainable organization that secures, manages, and distributes food to those who need it. They are the central hunger relief organization serving over 120 partner agencies in Chester County, PA. They work by accepting donations, state and federal food assistance programs, and purchasing fresh and non-perishables. Their work flow is four steps; food is donated, stored at the food bank, distributed to agencies, and then circulated to those in need. Their mission is to mobilize the community to ensure access to real, healthy food.
Programs:
They seek to improve the nutritional intake and health of food insecure households by expanding access to nutritious foods, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. Improving attitudes toward nutrition by also increasing skills and confidence in the kitchen by cooking. They also want to increase capacity of partner agencies to offer nutritious foods and promote healthy food choices. The food bank offers many programs to help with community with nutrition education, easy food access, and the fight against hunger. Some programs offered include;
1. Taste it!
a. Program offers a fun and interactive way to introduce new foods and to help cook nutritious meals on a budget. Trained volunteers and university interns encourage community members to taste healthy dishes and show how easy it is to make these dishes at home for their families.
b. Hosted through a network of member agencies as part of the Fresh2You Mobile Market. This encourages individuals at their local food cupboard to select healthier options. The market seeks to expand access to fresh fruit and vegetables for low-income community members.
2. Eat Fresh!
a. Program that partners with local community organizations to offer cooking and nutrition classes for people at risk of food insecurity. It teaches people to make healthier choices by learning how to select and prepare nutritious foods for themselves and their families.
b. 6-week program that practices hand-on cooking skills and selecting healthier recipes that call for whole grains, fresh produce, and other staples.
3. Raised Bed Garden
a. These are gardens build above ground on soil, typically in a garden frame made of wood. This program is a great way to bring gardening to schools and businesses there they normally couldn’t have access to. Program was started in 2009 with six partner garden sites and has expanded over the years. The produce grown in these gardens contribute to 33% of the fresh produce that is distributed to the network of food cupboards, meal sites, and social service organizations.
b. Their garden manager; Raina Ainslie works with host sites for their initial garden set up and education support.
4. Government programs
a. State Food Purchase Program (SFPP)
i. Provides cash grants to the County Commissioners who then disperse monies to lead agencies in their county. The Chester County Food Bank use this program to purchase nutritious food at wholesale to be distributed to the community families.
b. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
i. Helps supplement the diets of low-income American’s by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance at no cost. USDA makes commodity foods available through emergency food providers to low-income people through emergency food providers like Chester County Food Bank and also provides funding to assist food banks with storage and distribution costs.
5. Meals on Wheels
a. This is the oldest and largest national organization. Anyone regardless of age or economic status is eligible for this program. Meals on Wheels prepare, freeze, and store meals. They also prepare hot meals for pick up from the food banks.
Chester County Hospital
About: provides quality medical and nursing services without discrimination based upon age, sex, race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, ancestry, national origin, marital status, family status, genetic information, etc. Provides care to persons covered by governmental programs at or below cost and recognized these amounts as charity are in meeting its mission to the entire community. Vision is to be the leading provider of care in the region and a national model for quality, service excellence and fiscal stewardship.
” RoadMAPP
o Partnerships: Chester County Health Department, Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital, Chester County Food Bank, Chester County Community Foundation, Neighborhood Health, etc.
o MAPP is a community-driven strategic planning took for improving community health.
Community Health Needs of concern:
o Pregnant Hispanic and African America woman seek prenatal care later in their pregnancies compared to Caucasian women. Babies from these minoritys are born with low birth weight and infant mortality rates are higher for black infants (13.62 per 1000)
o More than one in ten residents (11.4%) in Chester County speak a language other than English at home. Health care and social services across the county have little to know translators, so there is a lack of sufficient explanation of health issues, care and treatment options.
o Cancer rates for melanomas, breast cancer, and prostate cancer are higher in Chester County than in Pennsylvania. They believe it is due to aggressive screening programs that detect cancers in their earlier and more treatable stages.
o Overweight adults in Chester County is lower than the statewide average (56% vs. 64%), that rate remains high. Organizations across the county need to continue efforts to encourage and support people to take action in their own health.
o “Substance abuse” and “mental health problems” are the top two greatest health problems in the community. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and obesity were the top three riskiest behaviors. Alcohol among high school students remains high with 50% of seniors.
” The five areas for health improvement are
o Wellness and disease prevention
o Coordinated behavioral and physical health
o Social, environmental and economic factors
o Cultural competence and health equity
o Awareness of community resources
Refine your community:
Veteran Benefits in Chester County Community
Veterans Temporary Assistance is a Pennsylvania program for honorably discharged veterans who had a sudden reduction in income, are not receiving monetary public assistance, and have direct financial need in order to maintain shelter, food, clothing and required medical care. These veterans are eligible for a grant of $1,600. The Choice Program allows veterans to receive health care within their community.
Community Needs:
Groups and organizations that I would want to involve are
Feeding America: this organization helps to provide meals to people in need through a network of food banks and help address root causes of hunger. Families who struggle to get enough healthy foods also struggle with basic need like housing, employment, and health care. Their goals include food rescue which is saving good food from going to waste, food that nourish; high in protein and nutrient rich, food safety by ensuring families receive good and safe food, and food security by breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty.
The Congressional Hunger Center (CHC) is a nonprofit organization that works to make issues of hunger a priority to policymakers and to raise a new generation of leaders to fight against hunger and poverty. Their mission is to train and inspire leaders who work to end hunger and advocate public policies that create a food secure world. Their goal is to bridge the gap between grassroots efforts and public policy to provide access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. They have two leadership development programs; Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program and Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows Program.
The USDA has a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program seeking to provide more fresh fruit and vegetable products to schools. The advantages of the program include greater buying power, consistent deliveries, emphasis on high quality, and large variety of produce locally grown. This program helps students and children who are food insecure because their families cant afford to purchase healthy food. Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is also under the USDA which ensures that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. They serve more than 200 million free meals to children every summer. This program is really important because children nutrition and growth should be a huge priority in our community. Children are the future of healthy people 2020 and with the obesity rate going up, it is important that our youth are getting the nutrients and exercise they need.
Nutrition Assessment:
Chester County food insecurity are people who lack access to enough food for an active, healthy life. 10% of Chester county residents are food insecure, 14% are children who are food insecure.  Nutrition programs that help in our community are SNAP which are food stamps that provide low-income residents with monthly food assistance to buy food at grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other small businesses. School meals have been given as a reduced price for low-income children attending these schools. Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program serves low-income pregnant women, new moms, infants, and children to receive vouchers for healthy foods, nutrition education and health care. Then there is also the State Food Purchase Program which is state funded that provides food to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other charities.
Nutrition and Weight Status; percentage of children grades K-6 who are obese from 2009 to current 2020 target of 15.7%. In 2008-09 the data were showed about 16.2%, it spiked up to almost 18% in 2009-10 and it has been going down since so the community is on its way to the 2020 goal oh 15.7%.
Chester County Health Profile 2013 showed that 6.1% of the population is below the poverty level (2007-2011)
Rate of maternal complications during delivery showed white mothers at 31.0% and black mothers at 43.0% during 2014; healthy people 2020’s goal is 28.0%. Maternal mortality rate for white mothers 9.5% and black mothers 23.1% in the years 2010-14; healthy people 2020’s goal is 11.4%.