We talk quite a bit in our programs about what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat but perhaps not sufficiently about having enough to eat. This is not an isolated problem in a foreign land. Of course food insecurity is a huge problem worldwide, but it’s also a big problem in the United States. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food. One in nine Americans can be classified as food insecure. The reasons are varied from low income to lack of affordable housing to social isolation to health problems to rising medical costs. It may be you are unaware of this issue with some of your patients; so how do we assess for food insecurity? The Hunger Vital Sign™ developed by Children’s HealthWatch is a simple, validated screening tool that helps to identify patients who are at risk for food insecurity. It’s two simple questions that you can use at any time with any patient in appropriate circumstances. We’ve created a toolkit item with those questions and then additional ways to support patients who are food insecure, and we’ve created another toolkit item that you may find useful to hand out. It lists resources that can help those who don’t have enough find enough.

Wishing you a happy, grateful Thanksgiving.

How to Access

1. Log in to the IFM website using your email address and password.
2. Select My Toolkit from the menu on the left.