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Examination of an Intergenerational Summer Meal Program for Children and Older Adults

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Abstract

Unreliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food in the U.S. is a persistent public health threat significantly impacting households with children (15%) and older adults (20%). Well-established nutrition assistance programs serve children and seniors independently, yet few programs utilize an intergenerational meal program model. The aim of this mixed methods study is to examine the impact of an intergenerational meal program administered through a partnership between a local school district and a county Senior Nutrition Program. Participating older adults completed surveys to assess food security and program attendance, and examine their understanding and utilization of community-based food resources. Interviews with a subsample of participants explored perceptions of the intergenerational meal program and community-level food security. Older adults (n = 83) completed surveys in English (59%), Spanish (25%), and Mandarin (16%). They identified primarily as Asian (44%), Latinx (30%), White (21%), and multi-racial (5%). Forty-eight percent of participants indicated low or very low food security at some time in the last 12 months. The subsample of interview participants (n = 24; Spanish 46% and English 54%) revealed key insights: 1) perceived benefits of an intergenerational meal program; 2) community-level food insecurity and struggles of older adults to make ends meet; and 3) importance and challenge of obtaining nutritious foods for those with limited budgets and medical comorbidities. Implementation of this intergenerational meal program highlights the opportunity to support the nutritional needs of children and older adults while leveraging a new interdisciplinary partnership and existing organizational capacity.

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Data Availability

The data for this study are not publicly available in a data repository. However access to all de-identified raw or analyzed data, and study materials are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the amazing team at Second Harvest Food Bank and Debbie Austin of the Mountain View Whisman School District for their dedication to promoting greater food security in our region. We would also like to thank Monica De La Cruz, Jaden De La Cruz, Che-Fai Au, and Gigi Lau for assistance with data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, 453 Quarry Rd, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA

    Janine S. Bruce, Melanie Ramirez & Sylvia Bereknyei Merrell

  2. University of Colorado School of Medicine, 13001 E. 17th Pl, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Tiffany N. Lien

  3. Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 780 Welch Road, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Elizabeth George

  4. Department of Aging and Adult Services, Senior Nutrition Program, Santa Clara County, 353 W. Julian St, San Jose, CA, 95110, USA

    Vandana Puri

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  1. Janine S. Bruce
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Contributions

All authors have contributed to the project in one or more of the following areas: (1) conceptualization [Janine Bruce, Tiffany Lien, Elizabeth George, Vandana Puri, Sylvia Merrell]; (2) study methodology [Janine Bruce, Tiffany Lien, Elizabeth George, Sylvia Merrell]; (3) data collection and analysis [Janine Bruce, Tiffany Lien, Elizabeth George, Melanie Ramirez, Sylvia Merrell], (4) manuscript writing and editing [all authors]. All authors have approved the final manuscript. This manuscript contains original data, and we have had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the analysis.

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Correspondence to Janine S. Bruce.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethics Approval

Human subjects approval was obtained by the Stanford University Institutional Review Board.

Consent to Participate

Consent was obtained from study participants prior to data collection. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw their consent or discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits (i.e. participation in the meal program).

Consent for Publication

Consent was obtained from study participants at enrollment and prior to data collection. The consent noted that their identity would not be disclosed and the results of the study may be presented at scientific or professional meetings or published in scientific journals.

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Bruce, J.S., Lien, T.N., George, E. et al. Examination of an Intergenerational Summer Meal Program for Children and Older Adults. J Community Health 47, 902–913 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-022-01125-0

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