Matt Dufrene knows not all people have the same access to healthy foods.
Dufrene, who serves as vice president of Texas Health Resources, has seen people struggle to live healthily because of the distance of grocery stores from their homes and lack of transportation.
The health system is hoping to address those barriers.
Texas Health is launching a nutrition security study in Tarrant, Dallas and Collin counties in partnership with analytics firm Gallup. The health system’s goal is to expand its current programs and increase availability across North Texas.
The study will also serve to provide more information on nutrition security, said Dufrene.
“We want to make it easier for people, especially those who don’t have nutrition security to have access to fresh, affordable produce,” he said. “It’s really important to broaden awareness that food security and nutrition security aren’t necessarily the same thing.”
What is the difference between nutrition security and food insecurity?
Nutrition security is having consistent access and affordable healthy foods and beverages to promote well-being and prevent disease. Nutrition security builds on efforts to address food insecurity in lower income and underserved communities.
Food insecurity is a lack of consistent access to enough food and is associated with increased risk for chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and mental health disorders.
Texas Health’s current efforts include the Good For You Pantry and Fresh Access programs, which provide free produce and healthy foods in schools and community centers. Since 2020, the health system has donated over 1.1 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to more than 157,000 individuals in Tarrant County.
Researchers will begin conducting interviews with communities in Tarrant, Dallas and Collin counties starting in February. The organization will focus on the 15 Tarrant County ZIP codes with the greatest need for healthy foods based on the health equity index.
The index compiles six social and economic determinants of health that are associated with poor outcomes. The data covers income, poverty, unemployment, occupation, educational attainment and linguistic barriers, all of which is standardized and averaged to create a composite index value for each ZIP code.
Still, for all the data to be gathered and evaluated, the strongest assessment of need is a result of being on the ground in communities wanting for healthy food. Texas Health believes it’s important to speak with community members who are actually impacted by the lack of access, said Dufrene.
Gallup will then conduct focus groups with elected officials; health care organizations; federal, city and county staff; foundations; food service suppliers; and community activists.
The two organizations previously collaborated on Texas Health’s Blue Zones Project, but this is the first time the two are coming together on a study of this size, said Dufrene.
“This is a new relationship and we’re really taking their global knowledge around food systems and applying that in this specific way,” he said.
Results, which will include a visual representation or map, are expected to be released in late summer or early fall.
David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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