DARE to CARE: Bridging the Gap Between Faith & Health Through Community Food Pantries as Shared Resources
Michael Mickens, Norton Healthcare/New Life Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Louisville, KY

In the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in food insecurity amongst marginalized communities. This rise in food insecurity among underserved populations has brought an increasing awareness of the connection between food insecurity and community health inequities. In her new book, Health Communication For Social Justice, Vinita Agarwal states, “Pandemics such as Covid-19 highlight the inequities and structural racism in the domain of food by showing how Americans who are most likely to be hungry are also at the highest risk for diet related diseases including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many cancers.” In light of the recent attention being given by researchers and health equity scholars to food-based insecurities, my paper seeks to provide a health equity framework for community health partnerships between faith-based organizations and healthcare institutions utilizing a shared resource in the community. Considering the role of food pantry’s in many faith-based organizations, I am proposing a WPHC (whole person health care) model that utilizes food pantries as the entry point for prevention health assessments, in-order to identify potential health risks amongst marginalized populations that are at risk both for food insecurity and chronic health conditions. The aim of my research paper is to demonstrate both the need for such a strategic partnership and to suggest a potential framework for an intervention that can be replicated in diverse community contexts.