Authors: Vanegas S, Harris A, Neault N, Nelson K, Barlow A.

Publication Year: January 2025

Keywords: Culturally Informed Care, Diabetes, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), Traditional Healing, food insecurity, traditional food, snap/wic

Abstract:
In 2024 the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, with funding from Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, administered a national survey among Native American caregivers of children 0-5 years of age to understand awareness, attitudes, facilitators, and barriers to access of federal food distribution programs. The pre-school children’s age group was selected for two main reasons: 1) there are concerns that this age group is particularly underserved by feeding programs administered through schools or that require transportation to access foods; and 2) ages 0-5 is the most critical developmental period in human life when foundational physical health is established. The survey focused specifically on the federal Summer Meals Program. Recruitment for this national survey began through the Center’s Family Spirit Program, an evidence-based early childhood home-visiting program with a network of national Indigenous partners who serve Native American families. The survey was administered as part of the Family Spirit Program’s FOOD Project: Finding Opportunities and Options for Distribution of Nourishing Food for Tribal Communities.

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Type of Resource: Reports