Sophia Lenarz-Coy

Sure. Yeah. Well, thanks again for having me. It's great to connect. And, you know, there are so many important connections between food insecurity or some people call it hunger. Right. And health. And so this idea of the linkages are just so important. So really appreciate the chance to talk about it. And I would say food insecurity. tends to be defined by the USDA.

Sure. Yeah. Well, thanks again for having me. It's great to connect. And, you know, there are so many important connections between food insecurity or some people call it hunger. Right. And health. And so this idea of the linkages are just so important. So really appreciate the chance to talk about it. And I would say food insecurity. tends to be defined by the USDA.

And it tends to be defined by someone who is not sure where their next meal is coming from at least a couple times a week. So you're just not sure you might find it. You might be able to cut back or go to somebody else's house. Everyone's kind of trying to make ends meet in different ways. But it's that sense of unsureness, that insecurity where you're

And it tends to be defined by someone who is not sure where their next meal is coming from at least a couple times a week. So you're just not sure you might find it. You might be able to cut back or go to somebody else's house. Everyone's kind of trying to make ends meet in different ways. But it's that sense of unsureness, that insecurity where you're

not sure if you're going to get the nutrition that you or your family needs. And it's quite prevalent. In Minnesota, it's about one in 10 or one in 11. Again, the numbers are always changing. At the height of kind of some of the pandemic, it was one in eight folks was experiencing food insecurity. So it really is significant. But to the point you raised earlier, it's not always visible.

not sure if you're going to get the nutrition that you or your family needs. And it's quite prevalent. In Minnesota, it's about one in 10 or one in 11. Again, the numbers are always changing. At the height of kind of some of the pandemic, it was one in eight folks was experiencing food insecurity. So it really is significant. But to the point you raised earlier, it's not always visible.

And I think that is the thing that sometimes people don't realize is Nobody, a lot of people aren't going to publicize the fact that they're maybe one of the parents is skipping meals so the kids have enough to eat or, you know, all sorts of things people are doing. It's not always talked about. There can still be a lot of stigma around it.

And I think that is the thing that sometimes people don't realize is Nobody, a lot of people aren't going to publicize the fact that they're maybe one of the parents is skipping meals so the kids have enough to eat or, you know, all sorts of things people are doing. It's not always talked about. There can still be a lot of stigma around it.

But with the price of groceries, having done what it's done for the past couple of years, there's just a lot of folks who are not able to get all the food they need for the month.

But with the price of groceries, having done what it's done for the past couple of years, there's just a lot of folks who are not able to get all the food they need for the month.

Yeah, I mean, great, great question. I'm not an expert on that. I know USDA has different ways that they do it. I do know that a lot of healthcare institutions now ask food insecurity screening questions. So there are two questions that have kind of been validated that if you ask these two questions, you'll get a real sense of of folks who are experiencing food insecurity.

Yeah, I mean, great, great question. I'm not an expert on that. I know USDA has different ways that they do it. I do know that a lot of healthcare institutions now ask food insecurity screening questions. So there are two questions that have kind of been validated that if you ask these two questions, you'll get a real sense of of folks who are experiencing food insecurity.

And so as that kind of becomes known as one of the social drivers of health, more and more health care providers are asking those questions for patients, knowing that if they're going to prescribe a patient medicine but that person doesn't have access to food, it's not even going to solve the problem.

And so as that kind of becomes known as one of the social drivers of health, more and more health care providers are asking those questions for patients, knowing that if they're going to prescribe a patient medicine but that person doesn't have access to food, it's not even going to solve the problem.

So I would say there's a lot more research happening on the health care side of things than there has been in the past. Um, but then there's also other ways to look at it, whether it be snap enrollment rates or, you know, kind of income levels at a census, uh, you know, census track level, those kinds of things too.

So I would say there's a lot more research happening on the health care side of things than there has been in the past. Um, but then there's also other ways to look at it, whether it be snap enrollment rates or, you know, kind of income levels at a census, uh, you know, census track level, those kinds of things too.

Yes, so like a lot of things I think in that kind of social drivers of health field there's a lot that's kind of still emergent so there's a wide variety of things that happen, but yeah The goal is to do a warm handoff referral right and so that could either happen at the really local community level so.

Yes, so like a lot of things I think in that kind of social drivers of health field there's a lot that's kind of still emergent so there's a wide variety of things that happen, but yeah The goal is to do a warm handoff referral right and so that could either happen at the really local community level so.

You know, if you're going to a clinic in South Minneapolis, they might refer you to the nearest food shelf that serves that neighborhood. Or they may refer you to a group like ours. We coordinate the Minnesota Food Helpline. And so we have a statewide kind of access to resources where we can do closed loop referrals with health care providers and feed that data back.

You know, if you're going to a clinic in South Minneapolis, they might refer you to the nearest food shelf that serves that neighborhood. Or they may refer you to a group like ours. We coordinate the Minnesota Food Helpline. And so we have a statewide kind of access to resources where we can do closed loop referrals with health care providers and feed that data back.