The Central Oregon Health Council is accepting application for its Grant program for Senior Food Insecurity Regional Metric Development.
Donor Name: Central Oregon Health Council
State: Oregon
County: Crook County (OR), Deschutes County (OR), Jefferson County (OR) and Klamath County (OR)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/19/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $150,000
Details:
However, food insecurity remains an issue for many older Oregonians. Older adults face a variety of challenges to food security, including barriers due to income, transportation, access to healthier food options, cognitive and physical challenges to preparing meals, health and dental issues that impact eating, ageism, and competing needs of other household members, particularly for older adults in multigenerational households.
Other factors that can exacerbate food insecurity among older adults include:
- The intersectionality of age with race, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identification, geographical region, and/or ability leaves older adults in double or triple jeopardy when it comes to food insecurity.
- Older adults in extremely rural areas may lack broadband accessibility or comfort with technology – thereby isolating them from navigational tools for access.
- Placing orders for food by phone may be difficult due to hearing impairment or isolation leading to some older adults wanting to engage in longer conversations with service people who may not have the time or patience or skills to assist.
- Low-income older adults may have to choose between health care (prescriptions), utility bills, and food. Often that means scraping by undernourished (not eating enough or well), which in turn leads to adverse health conditions and higher costs (both personally & systemically).
- Additionally, today there isn’t a measure to evaluate food insecurity among older adults (ages 65+) in Central Oregon. Establishing a metric with continued measurement would allow community partners to understand the problem better and allocate resources more effectively.
Proposal Outcomes
- The consultant should utilize a standardized tool to evaluate food insecurity among seniors (ages 65+) in Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, and northern Klamath County on a routine basis.
- The tool should include these qualities:
- Measure the level of food insecurity
- Ability to show long-term trends over time
- Ability to view data by zip code
- The consultant should build a sustainability component and consider partnerships so that ongoing data collection will continue past the funding period. The consultant should also recommend the frequency of data collection.
- The preferred qualities of the measurement tool to help community partners address food insecurity are:
- Identify family or household size
- Identify if and where individuals are receiving assistance for food insecurity
- Identify the health status of individuals that might impact their ability to consume adequate food
- Identify if individuals have a primary care provider
- Identify if individual is working with a case manager
- Identify underlying causes that are perpetuating food insecurity
- Access and preparation
Funding Information
Maximum Award Amount: up to $150,000
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications must be submitted by an organization with an EIN/Tax ID. Both nonprofit and for-profit organizations are welcome to apply.
- Projects must directly impact the specified Future State Measures of the Regional Health Improvement Plan.
- Projects must take place within Central Oregon:
- Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties
- The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
- Northern Klamath County, limited to:
- Gilchrist, Chemult, Crescent, and Crescent Lake Junction
- Projects partnering with tribes may be required to submit a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
- Projects must include prioritized populations & communities that are intentionally excluded from power, access, and privilege.
- Projects must be culturally and linguistically responsive for prioritized populations.
- The consultant must accomplish the following:
- Develop a regional metric to evaluate food insecurity among seniors (ages 65+) living in Central Oregon.
- Identify, adapt, and implement a baseline measurement
- Secure partnerships and provide guidance for ongoing or repeated measurement.
- Provide quarterly progress updates in writing or presented (online or in-person) to the Address Poverty and Enhance Self-Sufficiency Workgroup, including opportunities for questions and dialogue with the COHC team. Informal updates can be provided monthly, upon request.
- Provide leadership in interpreting findings together with COHC and community partners to guide strategies and investments to reduce senior food insecurity in Central Oregon
- Provide data collection instrument(s) and protocols for use in future implementations.
- Provide data and a summary of findings about senior food insecurity in Central Oregon.
For more information, visit COHC.
