Mitigating Hunger and Food Insecurity Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Caregivers of Hospitalized Children

The Feed1st proposed program of research will promote health of informal caregivers with a hospitalized child by testing a self-management intervention that addresses the widely overlooked problem of caregiver hunger. As many as 54% of parents and other informal caregivers of hospitalized children struggle with insufficient food to nourish themselves and their family during and after a hospital stay. Hunger impairs caregiver physical and mental health by depleting energy for self-care, emotional self-regulation, and supportive interactions with the child, the family, and the formal caregiver team. The long-term objective of the Feed1st program is to alleviate hunger and food insecurity among families with hospitalized children. Established in partnership with nursing and chaplaincy leadership at our children's hospital and the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Feed1st program currently operates self-serve food pantries on four inpatient units and the emergency department in our children's hospital on Chicago's South Side. Since 2010, Feed1st has provided nearly 8500 pounds of food to at least 4,000 individuals and 1500 households via the self-serve food pantries in the children's hospital. Over this same period, our team has also created a system for efficiently connecting families to community-based resources for hunger and other basic needs.