Project Description
Through a $300,000 two-year research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, our research team aims to understand food security among the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) population. Our research team includes researchers at the UNH Institute on Disability and researchers at the Center for Nutrition and Health Impact.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have cognitive and functional limitations which start any time before a child turns 18. These disabilities can include differences in intellectual functioning and may also include physical differences in functioning (e.g., seizures, trouble with movement, sensory disorders, metabolic issues).
The term “food insecure” is a term that describes people who lack access to the food they need to live an active and healthy life. People with IDD face unique food insecurity challenges that are not well understood. Some of the possible challenges they may face include a lack of sufficient money to purchase nutritious food, a lack of accessible and reliable transportation to purchase food, or a lack of accessible grocery stores
The long-term goal for this work is to inform implementation guidance for intervening and measuring food security among persons with IDD. We plan to accomplish this through two main objectives:
- In Year 1 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025), we will focus on Objective 1: Conducting a formative qualitative study, in collaboration with a stakeholder advisory committee and utilizing a participatory approach, with approximately 30 people with IDD and their family members to understand their food insecurity experiences.
- In Year 2 (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026), we will focus on Objective 2: Building on the formative study findings to co-develop, along with the advisory committee and interviewees, a preliminary measurement tool and intervention implementation guidance intended for social service organizations.
Researchers
Project Partners
Funding Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Foundational and Applied Science Program, project award no. 2024-69015-42299, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Your participation can make a difference, learn more about our study into food insecurity for people with IDD and their families and how you can take part.
Advisory Committee members
- Bria M. Berger, LCSW, Senior Research Manager, Feeding America
- Kelly Ehrhart, Advocate for people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness*
- Katie Flatley, Advocate, New Hampshire*
- Sheila Fleischhacker, PhD, JD, RDN, Public Health Law Researcher and younger sister to Maureen, person with Down’s Syndrome
- Beth Grosso, MSW, UCEDD Training Director, Institute on Disability (IOD), University of New Hampshire. Director of Training & Professional Development, National Center for START Services®. College of Health & Human Services Equity & Diversity Fellow
- Sara Oberle, MA, RDN, Health and Well-Being Field Specialist, University of New Hampshire Extension Office
- Ariel Schwartz, Research Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability
- John Tschida, Director, Association of University Centers on Disability
*Paid participant
Publications
