Guest Blogger: HFVT Community Advocacy Manager, Sarah Weisman, on Involving the Medical Community in Feeding Vermont's Children

One in five children in Vermont lives in food insecure households.  Here at Hunger Free Vermont, we work to engage professionals in all corners of the state and in all fields to work with us to end the injustice of hunger and malnutrition for these kids.  We work in schools and community centers, summer camps and after-school programs.  In our most recent efforts to reach more children, we’ve reached out to Vermont’s medical community with an online, 1-hour accredited tutorial that focuses on the impacts of childhood hunger and provides healthcare professionals with information and tools for intervention and screening of childhood food insecurity.

Why should doctors and nurses be screening kids for food insecurity?  Research shows that children living in food insecure homes have higher rates of developmental delay, emotional and physical problems, poorer health, more nutritional deficiencies, lower academic achievement, problems with social relationships, and a greater risk of becoming overweight.  The clinical setting is the perfect place to ask about food insecurity, and the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. The AAP mission statement is, “To attain optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.”  Fulfilling the AAP mission extends the focus of the pediatric visit from medical problems into health-related social domains.  These include: access to health care, housing, food security, income security, and intimate partner violence.

Hunger Free Vermont, in partnership with The University of Vermont College of Medicine, launched “Childhood Hunger in Vermont: The Hidden Impacts on Health, Development and Wellbeing” in February.  To date, over 70 health professionals have taken the course and the number continues to grow.  We will be working with a group of medical students this fall to assess the impact the tutorial has had on the practices of the physicians who have taken it and to provide continued assistance to medical providers who are eager to incorporate screening for food insecurity into their work.

It’s always exciting to reach a new group of professionals who are poised to make a difference in the lives of hungry Vermont children.  We are so fortunate to have a community of dedicated medical professionals in our beautiful state.

You can check out the course for yourself at https://hungerfreevt.globalclassroom.us/portal.