Nov. 30, 2022
Since 2007, Lee Health has conducted the Community Health Needs Assessment, or CHNA, to identify and address health disparities in Lee County. Through the CHNA, we can understand the prevalence of diseases and chronic conditions in our community, as well as access to and consumption of nutritious food, time spent being physically active and more.
The most recent CHNA revealed the threat of malnutrition. There is malnutrition caused by undernutrition (a deficiency of nutrients) and overnutrition (the excessive consumption of nutrients) due to access to nutritious foods. This is the case for people in our community, including:
- 38.2% of the population of Lee County have low food access meaning they live more than a ½ mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter or large grocery store.
- 25.2% of the population were determined to be food insecure meaning they run out of food or are worried about running out of food at some point.
- Only 25% of the population consumes five-plus servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
- 18.9% of the population reported that it is very or somewhat difficult to buy fresh produce.
To build on the CHNA and to give a clearer picture of the food environment in our community, Delaine Perez, a dietetic intern at Lee Health, looked at two parts of Lee County – 33901 by Lee Memorial Hospital and 33908 by HealthPark Medical Center.
In 33901, Delaine found that:
- 21.7% of the population living in the zip code face both low income and limited access to food.
- 35.5% of the population lives within one mile of a major grocery store.
- There are 22.1 grocery stores/supermarkets per 100,000 people in this area; however, most are small locally owned supermarkets or convenience stores that are usually limited in fresh produce and are abundant in processed foods.
- In this area, there are 137 fast-food restaurants per 100,000 people.
In 33908, around HealthPark Medical Center, Delaine found that:
- 11% of the population faces both low income and limited access to food.
- More than half of the population, 66.8% actually, live within one mile of a grocery store.
- In this part of Lee County, there are 20.9 grocery stores and 60.3 fast food restaurants per 100,000 people.
Delaine’s research shows how the food environment affects dietary intake and nutrition by limiting the number of healthy options that individuals have because of time, money or transportation.
“When you are pressed for time and money, fast food and take-out restaurants are more appealing than grocery stores because you can often feed more individuals with less money,” she explains. “Transportation also impacts nutrition, especially if an individual rides the bus – they may not live near the closest bus route and may not want to walk a long distance with groceries or they may not have enough time after work to go to the grocery store when the bus route stops at 9:30 p.m.”
Delaine adds that there are several food banks available to help individuals feed themselves and their families.
Earlier this year, during National Nutrition Month in March, a team of registered dietitian nutritionists hosted food drives at each of our hospital cafeterias. During the food drive, the team had an idea and engaged Lee Health and Healthy Lee to develop a program – the Lee Health Surplus Hurricane Supply Food Donation Program – to help stock food banks by diverting hospital food to organizations that feed people who are food insecure.
Lee Health must have a 7-day emergency food menu for patients during a disaster. “We keep a surplus of foods for our emergency management plan,” explains Heather Wayco, director of clinical nutrition/patient experience cohort at Lee Health. “In the event we don’t use these emergency foods and three months before the expiration date, instead of discarding the foods, we donate them to our community partners who serve our vulnerable populations.”
Since the program started in June, almost 17,500 meals have been diverted to area nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry, including The Salvation Army, Community Cooperative, Grace Lutheran Church, the Empowerment Center, St. Matthew’s House, Feed My Families and Café of Life.
With a clear understanding of our community’s needs and the food environment, Lee Health is working with community partners to find ways to address malnutrition in Lee County.