How to find the food resources you need

I'm a family physician who works in a community health center and in a larger community health center network. One of the things that’s important to me and to a lot of other family physicians is a concept called “social determinants of health.” These are the socioeconomic factors in your life that impact your overall health.

One of those social determinants of health is food insecurity, and my practice works with many patients who have food insecurity. Unfortunately, many of my patients worry about where their next meal is coming from. And with SNAP benefits in disarray due to the government shutdown, food insecurity has only gotten worse.

If you’re worried about getting enough food for you or your family, you’re not alone. Your doctors and health team are on your side.

Resources are out there

The temporary pause on SNAP benefits isn’t the only economic impact on food insecurity. In many cities, the cost of living continues to rise, and the proportion of income it takes to afford basic necessities is also getting larger. Layoffs are happening at many companies at a high scale, too.

I’m reminded of when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, when so many of my patients were losing employment and their source of income.

At that time, and now, many of my patients were simply at a loss about what to do. My clinic’s message has been consistent: Programs are out there to help you get food. We encounter some shame around getting assistance, but there is no shame in making sure your family has access to what you need to survive. If you need help, ask for it—and your doctor will do our best to help.  

Neighborhood Navigator

There are a variety of tools out there that may work for you. While you can always use Google or other services, what you find may not be local or tailored to your needs.

One tool that we use all the time in our practice—a tool that you can also use on your own—is Neighborhood Navigator. What Neighborhood Navigator lets you do is drill down to a ZIP code level to help you determine what resources may be available where you live. It also allows you to filter the services that you’re looking for, which dampens some of the noise around what’s out there.

Good food is still important

I understand that getting any food on the table is better than going hungry. But in the long term, it’s not just important to get food—finding a quality source of food that’s fresh and healthy will have an outsized impact on your health.

This is especially true if you’re a patient with a condition that requires you to have a reasonable sense of what’s going on with your nutrition, such as type 2 diabetes. So even if you can already get some food, resources like Neighborhood Navigator can help you find the food that will allow you to live a healthy life.

How to help

The charitable food sector is large and does great work, but for every meal these organizations provide, people count on the SNAP program to provide so many more. So if you’re in a position to help bridge that gap, your efforts can go a long way.

Start by asking your community health center what they need. Food is a big one, of course, but there are other things that you can donate or buy that can help folks get food as well as other needed household or hygiene items. One example is diapers. With inflation and low wages, acquiring diapers is very challenging for a lot of patients. Every dollar they have to spend on diapers is a dollar they can’t spend on food.

Community health is not just about physicians. And it’s not about just doing a good thing once. It’s continuing to be a source of volunteerism and assistance to your neighbors—particularly those who may be more vulnerable. A lot of the health centers that I’m aware of now have relatively robust websites and social media accounts where you can learn about what’s going on in your community.

Don’t forget about your friendly neighborhood family physician

Lastly, remember that having a usual source of health care is essential to making health primary for you and your family. Be sure to visit your friendly neighborhood family physician!

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