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Food Security Information Ecosystem

Existing Problem

 

Despite food insecurity being rampant in many parts of Santa Clara County (SCC) and continuously changing with respect to the specific needs, publicly available information on local food insecurity tends to be secondhand, infrequently collected, or too anecdotal or general. In the short term, this lack of detailed, timely information limits food-related service providers' ability to adapt their programs to community needs quickly. In the long term, it limits the ability to evaluate collective success in addressing food insecurity or to devise timely policies.

Proposed Solution

 

To address this issue, Valley Verde proposes developing a Food Security Information Ecosystem that would consist of local nonprofits and affiliated volunteers (e.g., students), universities, and government agencies. The Ecosystem members would collaborate to collect, analyze, and publicly disseminate critical food-insecurity information, such as who (by demographic group) is food insecure, where the food insecure live (by zip code), what their needs are, and how the determinants and consequences of food insecurity are changing. The disseminated information would inform programmatic changes in the short term and impact evaluation in the long term. 

The Details

 

Nonprofits and affiliated volunteers would collect the information through surveys and interviews. They would use surveys to gather information on the who, what, and where of local food insecurity. This information would be automatically anonymized, summarized, and visualized in real time on a publicly available dashboard, which, being real-time, would also offer insight into the when of food insecurity. The dashboard would be used by nonprofits and government agencies for programmatic adjustment to current needs. Nonprofits and affiliated volunteers would additionally use interviews to gather information about the determinants and consequences of food insecurity. All information gathered through surveys and interviews would be anonymized and provided to universities for analysis. Universities would also organize (diverse and representative) focus groups to support the interpretation of survey and interview results. Finally, every two years, nonprofits, universities, and government agencies would collectively publish and disseminate the results of the analysis through an annual community needs assessment report.

Community Needs Assessment

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One of the Food Security Information Ecosystem's central instruments would be a community needs assessment, published every two years. Toward this end, Valley Verde is launching a large-scale community needs assessment to gather timely, nuanced, and diverse perspectives from SCC residents on unmet food-related needs and access to food-related services. The needs assessment is robust, relies on surveys and interviews, and has rigorous data collection, analysis, and dissemination methodologies informed by a year of surveying and interviewing at Sacred Heart Community Service’s San Jose location.

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​We plan to share the results of the community needs assessment widely with interested community members and academic, nonprofit, and government organizations, and to apply them in identifying new and strengthening existing collaborative efforts to comprehensively address the county's short- and long-term food-related needs.​

Ecosystem of Food-Related Service Providers

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Thus far, Valley Verde has mapped out an ecosystem of 200+ possible nonprofit and government agencies in SCC, providing:

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  • Direct and emergency food relief,

  • Subsidized shopping and purchasing,

  • Affordable food alternatives, and

  • Supporting services

 

Valley Verde has also directly engaged the following organizations:

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  • SCC's Department of Public Health and Office of Sustainability and Resilience as strategic thought partners;

  • Stanford University as a research design partner; and

  • Hunger at Home, Martha's Kitchen, Sacred Heart Community Service, and Second Harvest Silicon Valley as locations for surveying and interviewing.

Community-Science-Based Approach

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Developing the Food Security Information Ecosystem and its instruments requires a broad community effort beyond the academic, nonprofit, and government organizations forming its core. It requires the involvement of all community members and groups wanting to end food insecurity in SCC. Ways to become involved include:

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  1. Conducting surveys and interviews, or providing support by translating, distributing flyers, etc.

  2. Promoting the initiative through social media

  3. Advocating the initiative with decisionmakers

​Are you a Santa Clara County resident? Please contact us to get involved, schedule an interview, participate in a focus group, or complete a survey. 

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