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OSU E-Campus offers course to teach signs of food insecurity
Oregon's food insecurity rate at 12 percent, one percent higher than national average
Rebecca Johnson
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News
With Oregon's higher than average hunger rates often hitting children the hardest, the OSU Extended Campus in collaboration with the Oregon Childhood Hunger Initiative is offering a professional development course that trains health care professionals and others on how to spot food insecurities in children.
The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that in Oregon last year, over 12 percent of households were suffering from some level of food insecurity, which is above the national average. About 5.5 percent fitted the criteria of being hungry, a percentage that represents around 79,000 households in Oregon.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a household is considered food insecure when it reports a negative change in their eating habits, such as variety or quality. The USDA said that for a household to be considered hungry they would have to see "multiple indications of disrupted eating habits and reduced food intake."
"Food insecurity describes a condition of whether a family last year was worried about food, had to reduce or skip meals, or are buying lower quality food because it is the cheaper choice," said Mark Edwards, a professor of sociology and expert on food insecurity in households.
It is possible for a household to be food insecure without being considered hungry.
The Oregon Food Bank reports that 36 percent of food recipients are under the age of 13 and that 86 percent of households receiving food have at least one child in residence.
The idea of the course is to combat food insecurity in a clinical setting.
"I think this course is a good idea … I think food insecurity is an issue that has been underappreciated in the medical community," Edwards said. "States have gone about describing the issue differently. In Oregon, food insecurity is seen more of an issue of income, while in California it is seen as an issue of health."
The course was developed and reviewed by several members of the medical and public assistance fields across the nation.
The course is entitled Childhood Food Insecurities: Health Impacts, Screening and Intervention. The course is broken down into five modules. Participants are first informed of the prevalence of food insecurity and the impact it can have on a household, specifically children.
They are then taught how they can discover and address these issues in a clinical setting. This includes learning not only what questions to ask, but how to ask them given their sensitive nature.
Finally, participants are instructed on how to intervene once food insecurity has been established. This includes providing information on public assistance programs offered to food insecure households, such as WIC and food stamps.
The course takes one hour after which the participant can file for a certificate of completion.
Anyone interested in taking the course can find it on the OSU E-Campus website.
Rebecca Johnson, senior reporter
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that in Oregon last year, over 12 percent of households were suffering from some level of food insecurity, which is above the national average. About 5.5 percent fitted the criteria of being hungry, a percentage that represents around 79,000 households in Oregon.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a household is considered food insecure when it reports a negative change in their eating habits, such as variety or quality. The USDA said that for a household to be considered hungry they would have to see "multiple indications of disrupted eating habits and reduced food intake."
"Food insecurity describes a condition of whether a family last year was worried about food, had to reduce or skip meals, or are buying lower quality food because it is the cheaper choice," said Mark Edwards, a professor of sociology and expert on food insecurity in households.
It is possible for a household to be food insecure without being considered hungry.
The Oregon Food Bank reports that 36 percent of food recipients are under the age of 13 and that 86 percent of households receiving food have at least one child in residence.
The idea of the course is to combat food insecurity in a clinical setting.
"I think this course is a good idea … I think food insecurity is an issue that has been underappreciated in the medical community," Edwards said. "States have gone about describing the issue differently. In Oregon, food insecurity is seen more of an issue of income, while in California it is seen as an issue of health."
The course was developed and reviewed by several members of the medical and public assistance fields across the nation.
The course is entitled Childhood Food Insecurities: Health Impacts, Screening and Intervention. The course is broken down into five modules. Participants are first informed of the prevalence of food insecurity and the impact it can have on a household, specifically children.
They are then taught how they can discover and address these issues in a clinical setting. This includes learning not only what questions to ask, but how to ask them given their sensitive nature.
Finally, participants are instructed on how to intervene once food insecurity has been established. This includes providing information on public assistance programs offered to food insecure households, such as WIC and food stamps.
The course takes one hour after which the participant can file for a certificate of completion.
Anyone interested in taking the course can find it on the OSU E-Campus website.
Rebecca Johnson, senior reporter
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
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