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Food Security and Nutrition in Three Spokane County Elementary Schools:
A Community Needs and Readiness Assessment
Kylie Pybus
July 2016
Colorado School of Public Health at CSU

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The purpose of the community needs and readiness assessment is to map food
distribution services and assess the willingness and capacity of organizations to participate in
nutrition education. The knowledge gained through the assessment will inform the expansion and
modification of food distribution and nutrition education programs. The Stakeholder
Engagement will mobilize and strengthen community partnerships between Second Harvest and
their partner agencies to broaden the scope of the “Second Harvest in Spokane Schools” 2014-
2017 evaluation plan and future nutrition education services provided by Second Harvest. This
report will contribute to quality assurance of organizations, the workforce and programs
addressing food security and nutrition in Spokane County.
Households deemed food secure have access to “nutritionally adequate and safe foods”
(Anderson 1990; Coleman-Jensen 2003). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
asks families about food anxiety, food running out, food shortages, and hunger when assessing
for levels of food security. Families with very low food security frequently report they “cut or
skip meals, that food runs out before they could buy more, and feeling worried that food would
run out” (Coleman-Jensen et al. 2013). Families experiencing low and very low food security
report having disruptions in their food intake and reductions in food quality (Olson et al. 2010).
More than 200 regional food banks across the United States provide foods to food
insecure individuals, local food pantries, and other community organizations. Throughout the
past three decades, food banks have departed from being solely an emergency food source to
serving chronically food insecure lower middle and low-income populations (Webb et al. 2012).
Approximately 70% of the food-insecure population in the United States utilized a food pantry in
the past year (Coleman-Jensen et al. 2013). Food banks and pantries roles are becoming
Literature Review
Purpose

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increasingly important for chronically food insecure populations, who utilize the money they
save on fresh foods for other basic living costs (Webb et al. 2012)
Low-income individuals face higher risks of chronic diseases due to poor diet quality,
increased consumption of energy dense foods, sugar, and sporadic eating patterns. Poor diet
quality can be partially explained by the lack of nutrient-dense foods in food insecure
neighborhoods and supermarkets (Pan et al. 2012; Townsend et al. 2001). Foods that are high in
sugar and fat are less expensive than fruits, vegetables, and whole foods and are more likely to
be bought and consumed by low-income populations. Other behaviors that explain higher rates
of obesity among low-income individuals include “cyclical food expenditure and restriction” due
to food stamp distributions where food consumption and body fat storage increases during
periods of food availability (Pan et al. 2012). Low-income individuals will often purchase the
majority of their food when services such as Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) and Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits are re-loaded once a month. This leaves individuals and
families with less food and reduced feelings of security, creating the cyclical food patterns
contributing to chronic diseases.
Nutrition and cooking education can improve health outcomes by showing families how
to prepare healthy foods (Kaiser et al. 2013). In a survey of 90 food pantry users in Washington
State, the majority of focus group participants expressed interest in learning how to stretch food
dollars and prepare fresh ingredients. Food pantry clients wanted to know how to “cook and
make tasty, low-cost food” (Hoisington et al. 2002). A 2012 survey of 1,500 low income families
revealed that 75% of families believe cooking healthy meals is realistic for their family and 80%
are interested in learning how to cook healthy meals (Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters
2012). Families’ main motivation for cooking healthy meals is to make sure their children are

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receiving nutritionally adequate foods. In addition to improving health outcomes, cooking
programs are also associated with improving social aspects of youth’s well being (Utter et al.
2016). Nutrition education and cooking classes offer clients a path to healthy lifestyles that may
contribute to self-sufficiency in future years.
Barriers for fruit and vegetable consumption exist at the individual and community level.
More than 100 focus group participants utilizing food resources in North Carolina identified
cooking and nutrition knowledge, convenience, and personal food preferences as reasons they
did not have access to and/or did not use fruits and vegetables. Many participants did not know
how to prepare, assemble, and cook fresh produce. (Haynes-Maslow et al. 2015). Community
level factors include fruit and vegetable availability, lack of transportation, and feeling safe
accessing food resources (Haynes-Maslow et al. 2015). Many of these barriers exist in food
deserts, defined as “areas offering few to no consumer food resources, or areas where healthful,
affordable food is scarce” (Damman et al. 2010). Food banks and pantries serve an important
purpose in providing fresh foods in a safe and accessible place.
Many families know the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. If fresh produce
is unavailable, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are a great option with a high nutritional
value. In a survey of 1,500 low-income families, 81% said fresh fruits and vegetables are
extremely healthy while only “32% rated frozen fruits and vegetables as extremely healthy and
12% rated canned fruits and vegetables as extremely healthy” (Share Our Strength’s Cooking
Matters 2012). Students on Free and Reduced Price Meals (FRPM) consume more fruits and
vegetables at school than at home. In a study of approximately 11,0000 middle school students
throughout 28 school districts in Washington State, seventh graders consumption of fruits and
vegetables was positively associated with receiving FRPM. Students on FRPM consumed more

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fruits and vegetables at school and less fruits and vegetables at home in comparison to their peers
from middle and high-income homes (Mednik-Vaksman et al. 2016).
Community needs and readiness assessments evaluate ongoing community efforts,
knowledge, climate, and resources to tackle a specific issue. The Tri-Ethnic Center for
Prevention Research at Colorado State University developed a model that defines six dimensions
and nine stages of community readiness. Levels of community readiness from least to most ready
are: No Awareness, Denial/Resistance, Vague Awareness, Preplanning, Preparation, Initiation,
Stabilization, Confirmation/Expansion, and High Level of Community Ownership (The
Community Tool Box). The Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research suggests scoring
interviews on a scale of 1-10 based on the individual and/or agencies’ knowledge of community
efforts, climate, knowledge, and resources available. This is best accomplished by having
multiple people read and score the transcripts. For our purposes, the Second Harvest Community
Needs and Readiness Assessment will ask stakeholders to rate their readiness to adopt nutrition
education efforts on a scale of 1-10 and other responses will provide context to their “score”.
In 2014, 15.7% of the Spokane population experienced food insecurity (Feeding
America). Spokane County’s level of food insecurity has decreased since 2011, however
households in the region will need more support to reach a national goal of 6% food insecurity in
2020 (Healthy People 2020). Food insecurity levels for youth have decreased from 19% in 2008
to 16% in 2014 (Healthy Youth Survey). Risk factors for youth’s increased food insecurity in
2014 include having a mother who did not graduate high school and youth whose race was Black
or Native American/Alaska Natives.
Community Data

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A concerning trend for Spokane youth is their decreasing consumption of fruits and
vegetables. As food security increased in the community, youth choose calorie-dense and
processed foods over fresh produce. In 2008, 25% of youth in Spokane County ate the
recommended 5 fruits and vegetables per day while only 20% of youth met this goal in 2014.
These trends are also reflected in decreasing levels of fruit and vegetable consumption
throughout Washington State (Healthy Youth Survey). As youth progress from middle to high
school the likelihood of eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day decreases. In contrast to
food security data, Native Americans/Alaska Natives were more likely to eat the recommended
levels of fruits and vegetables.
Second Harvest in Spokane Schools serves three of the highest Free and Reduced Price
Meal eligible schools in Spokane Public and East Valley Elementary Schools. As illustrated in
table one, Bemiss, Lidgerwood, and Trent Elementary schools have 28 – 31% greater rates of
Free or Reduced-Price Meals than the district average. These schools are also situated in the
neighborhoods of Bemiss, Hillyard, and East Valley who collectively experience adverse health
outcomes such as higher rates of chronic diseases and lower life expectancies, 75-78 for females
and 71-73 for males. These neighborhoods also have higher federal poverty rates between 36.2 –
46.5% (Dominguez et al. 2012).
Table 1. Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Free or Reduced-Price Meal for 2014-
2015
Number
of
Students
Eligible
for
Free
or
Reduced-­‐Price
Meals
Percent
of
Students
Eligible
for
Free
or
Reduced-­‐Price
Meals
Spokane
School
District
17,402
57.8%
Bemiss
Elementary
491
88.2%
Lidgerwood
Elementary
336
85.5%
East
Valley
School
District
2,207
51.1%
Trent
Elementary
375
82.6%

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Sixteen youth centers, community organizations, food pantries, and faith-based
organizations were identified near the boundaries of Bemiss, Lidgerwood, and Trent elementary
schools. A 13-item survey was developed on Survey Monkey asking about the extent to which
they are meeting the needs of their clients, what nutrition education and cooking classes are
offered, challenges faced by their organization, and the capacities to expand their programs
throughout the next three years.
Each organization was given two to four email and phone call reminders to complete the
survey. After two weeks, ten organizations had filled out the survey electronically or over the
phone for a response rate of 63%. Those organizations that indicated they were interested in
expanding their nutrition and cooking education programs were contacted for a follow-up Key
Stakeholder interview. Interviews were conducted with Northeast Youth Center, the Salvation
Army, Spokane Valley Partners, and WSU Food Sense. The interview transcripts were analyzed
using the grounded theory approach. Community Readiness was assessed using the Tri-Ethnic
Center for Prevention Research’s model. I asked stakeholders to rate their readiness to adopt
nutrition education efforts on a scale of 1-10 to help in placing their readiness “score”.
American Indian Community Center
Serving Spokane’s urban-based Native and Non-Native population for the past thirty years, the
Community Center offers a food bank, family services, and career preparation programs. Their
food bank serves all residents in the 99202 zip code and all American Indian families throughout
the Spokane area.
Better Living Center
The Better Living Center has a thirty-year history of providing low-income Spokane residents
with food, health education, and clothing services. Since 2012, they have distributed
approximately 500,000 pounds of emergency and weekly food supplies annually.
Participating Community Organizations
Methods

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Caritas Outreach Ministries
A collaboration between fourteen Northwest Spokane Churches, Caritas Outreach Ministries
provides food, hygiene products, and occasional utility assistance to families in need. Their
service area is north of Montgomery to Hawthorne road near Whitworth University, west of
Division to the Spokane River, and the 99026 zip code. This encompasses the areas surrounding
Bemiss and Lidgerwood elementary schools.
New Hope Ranch
New Hope Ranch provides food to low-income clients in Northeast Spokane. Their food pantry
is open two days a week to provide fresh foods to hungry families.
Northeast Youth Center
Students ages 3-17 access recreation, education, and food program opportunities at the Northeast
Youth Center. Through Second Harvest and State services, Northeast Youth Center offers the
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the USDA Summer Food Service Program
(SFSP). This ensures that students receive breakfast, lunch, and a snack each weekday. In
addition to the CACFP and SFSP programs, Second Harvest’s Bite2Go provided youth with 160
kits for students to have food over the weekend in the summer of 2016. Their youth participated
in several cooking classes at The Kitchen during the 2015-2016 academic year, allowing students
from Bemiss, Lidgerwood, and other schools an opportunity to prepare healthy foods.
Northwest Food Pantry
Sponsored by Spokane’s Church of the Nazarene, Northwest Connect offers educational
opportunities, community development programs, and social needs programs such as the food
pantry. In 2015, the Food Pantry served 2658 families and 7912 individuals.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army serves more than 40,000 people every year. Since 1891, they have provided
food bank, housing, and emergency relief services to Spokane. They are one of the largest food
banks serving this area and operate on a client choice model. The Salvation Army is growing
their nutrition education programs by offering “Food Basics”, a cooking class to their clients.
Serve Spokane
Established in 2005, Serve Spokane provides approximately 1,300 people with food each month.
They offer a client choice pantry stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, a clothing ministry,
and a neighborhood engagement project named “City Reach”. Through their collaboration with
Second Harvest they offer the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP-Senior Boxes), and Bite2Go weekend meals for children.
Serve Spokane is in North Spokane, which is not accessible to Bemiss and Lidgerwood families
without transportation.

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Spokane Valley Partners
The Spokane Valley Center provides a unified center to offer food, clothing, and emergency
system to low-income individuals in Spokane Valley. They have a robust pantry and cooking
education program. Areas for partnership opportunities between Second Harvest and Spokane
Valley Partners exist with the remodel of their commercial Kitchen, “The Classroom”.
Youth For Christ
Youth For Christ is a national organization and maintains two active centers in Spokane’s
poorest neighborhoods, West Central and Hillyard. Our Community Needs and Readiness
assessment engaged the Hillyard location due to its proximity to Bemiss and Lidgerwood
elementary schools. They are a drop-in youth center providing homework help, food, and
outreach events for youth. Youth For Christ is committed to developing healthy lifestyles
through providing two home cooked meals a week for students and opportunities to encourage
basic health through student and volunteer leader relationships.
Partner agencies’ responses reported the needs of their clients, described their program
offerings, and discussed their capacity to participate in nutrition education efforts. Survey results
and themes drawn from Key Stakeholders informed the placement of partner agencies along the
Community Readiness Model.
Many of the community organizations believed their food pantry programs were meeting
the needs of clients who could access their organization. Of the four programs assessed, nutrition
education materials such as brochures, flyers, and posters were not meeting the needs of clients.
Snack programs were offered by four of the ten responding organizations and thus less of an
importance was placed on expanding snack programs. For organizations that listed their food
pantry as moderately or minimally meeting the needs of clients, staff identified running out of
food and throwing out food due to expiration date guides provided by Second Harvest. Figure 1
illustrates the needs being met by food pantry, fresh produce, snack programs, and nutrition
education materials respectively.
Survey and Key Stakeholder Interview Results

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Figure 1. Services Provided by 10 Community Organizations and the Extent to Which
Each Meets the Need of People Accessing Their Organization.
Second Harvest provides the majority of the food items distributed by food pantries.
Survey and Key Stakeholder Interview results showed that agencies were satisfied with the
volume and quality of food that is provided through Second Harvest deliveries and grocery
rescue efforts. Prior to the Need and Readiness Assessment, Northwest Connect did not know
they could “shop” at Second Harvest for fresh produce during the week. They have now adopted
this in addition to their weekly deliveries to provide more fresh produce to their clients.
Organizations rarely purchased food and sometimes organized direct food donations or food
drives specific to their organization.
Partnering agencies believed there to be few barriers that prevented clients from
accessing food pantry services. The largest barriers that existed included a lack of transportation
availability and clients with disabilities who were unable to come to the food pantry. Spokane
Valley Partners is combating these barriers by delivering food to their clients. Their Food
Program Coordinator, Cheryl Thompson, has been searching for funding to buy a refrigerated
n=8
n=5
n=8
n=8
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Food Pantry Program
Snack Programs
Fresh Produce
Nutrition Education Materials
Levels of Needs Being Met
Services Provided and The Extent to Which Each Meets the
Needs of Clients 3
–
Fully
Meets
Level
of
Need
2-­‐
Moderately
Meets
Level
of
Need
1
–
Minimally
Meets
Level
of
Need
0
–
Does
Not
Met
Level
of
Need

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truck for the past two years so that she can include perishable food items in her deliveries to nine
low-income apartment and mobile home parks in the Spokane Valley.
Figure 2. Barriers that Prevent Clients From Accessing Food and Nutrition Services
Throughout Key Stakeholder Interviews, protein was the most discussed food group and
most requested food item by food pantry clients. Community partners would like to offer more
fresh and frozen meats to their clients. Many reported that clients did not like cooking with plant-
based proteins such as lentils and chickpeas, despite efforts to promote these products such as
sampling lentil tacos. This is an opportunity to expand upon in cooking classes, as perishable
meat products are difficult to preserve and store at many food pantries. Both Cassandra and
Kelsie described client’s perceptions toward protein sources:
“Our people are not looking for canned protein, they’re looking for fresh protein because that’s
what’s in ‘Food Basics: Cooking 101 Class’. We want to teach you how to make something
that’s not in a box”. – Cassandra Cram, The Salvation Army
“Protein is also quite expensive. So, meats both canned and fresh are hard to keep stocked. We
do try to showcase protein rich vegetarian meals but most US families are unaccustomed to plant
based diets and struggle creating a meal without meat”. – Kelsie Rowland, Caritas Outreach
Ministries
0.00 1.00 2.00
Hours of
Operation
Days of
Operation
Disability
Transportation
Location
Extent to Which Barrier Exists
Barries That Prevent Clients from Accessing Food and Nutrition
Services
2
–
A
large
barrier
1
-­‐
A
barrier
0
–
Not
a
Barrier

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Figure 3. Nutrition Topics incorporated into courses and/or curriculums at community
organizations.
Interest in preparing meals and learning how to cook varies throughout the age groups.
Many children in elementary and middle school are very enthusiastic about cooking and learning
how to prepare new and healthy foods. Students from the Northeast Youth Center prepared fresh
salads, homemade popcorn, fruit leathers, and other snacks including homemade pickles in the
Second Harvest Kitchen during the 2015-2016 school year.
“The kids loved preparing salads. If they are given the opportunity to try a fruit or vegetable,
then they like it, it’s all about exposure to new foods” – Kate Green, Northeast Youth Center
However, organizations including The Salvation Army and Spokane Valley Partners
reported very low cooking enthusiasm and ability among their young low-income families.
Individuals face barriers of cost, convenience, and low cooking and nutrition knowledge when
cooking meals at home. Cooking classes must present convenient and tasty foods to appeal to a
population who often utilized drive-thrus and microwave foods.
“This generation (young adults) doesn’t know how to cook a meal, even how to sit down to a
meal as a family; that is something my generation would have done in Home Economics” –
Cassandra Cram, The Salvation Army.
0
1
2
3
4
Meal
Planning
and
Budgeting
Whole
Grains
Protein
Sources
Beverages Fruits and
Vegetables
Healthy
Snacks
Cooking
Skills
NumberofResponses
Nutrition Education Topics
Not Much
Little
Somewhat
Much
A Great Deal

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“A lot of our recipients don’t like to cook. If they can’t open it and put it in the microwave, they
won’t eat it, they don’t want to put any effort into it. Some of the older couples do cook. The
younger low-income families they are into the microwave, the WSU nutrition educators work
really hard to make simple recipes”. – Cheryl Thompson, Spokane Valley Partners
There is significant capacity and interest in expanding nutrition education and cooking
classes in the community. Each organization was scored individually using the community
readiness assessment due to the diversity of capabilities and services offered.
Figure 4. Community Readiness Model Results
The ten community organizations represented in this assessment were on various levels of the
“Stages of Community Readiness”. Partners that solely provide a food pantry such as Northwest
Connect and Serve Spokane are in Preplanning to Preparation phases, where most of the
nutrition education is delivered passively through written materials. Other organizations such as
Youth For Christ offer informal learning opportunities for youth about healthy eating and
lifestyles and are likely in the initiation phase. Finally, The Salvation Army, Northeast Youth
Center, and Spokane Valley Partners are active in providing nutrition and cooking education to

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their clients. I would place these three agencies that reported a 9-10 on readiness to expand their
services in the Confirmation and Expansion phase. Spokane Valley Partners and The Salvation
Army both have commercial cooking spaces that they would welcome volunteer instructors to
utilize. Both of these organizations voiced the success of Washington State University (WSU)
FoodSense’s classes in helping clients cook food pantry items at home. Cheryl and Cassandra of
Spokane Valley Partners and The Salvation Army expressed disappointment that there would not
be as many of these opportunities with WSU in the future. The Better Living Center, Northeast
Youth Center, Spokane Valley Partners, and The Salvation Army are ready to continue and
expand on their nutrition programs. They remain excited about strengthening their partnership
with Second Harvest.
All organizations reported utilizing some written nutrition education materials from
Second Harvest. Terry Perry of WSU FoodSense suggested developing social media and web
materials in addition to written resources to increase client participation. One of the most popular
handouts or electronic resources is a recipe card. Evidence shows that distributing a recipe
“anchored in a single vegetable, [fruit, whole grain, or protein]”, with few steps, and a colored
photograph are well received by low-income clients (Evans et al. 2008). The Kitchen at Second
Harvest has developed many recipe cards with nutrition facts that fit this model. Key Stakeholder
Interview participants reported that clients are likely to access recipe cards and produce fact
sheets on the Second Harvest and Partner Agencies website. Future efforts may include
distributing these cards to food pantries and other community organizations both in print and
web-based mediums.
Discussion and Recommendations

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Interest and participation in cooking among young low-income families in the three
Spokane service areas were much lower than compared to other reports such as “It’s Dinnertime”
by Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters. A more accurate reflection of individuals and families
perceptions and abilities would be captured through surveys and qualitative interviews with
clients themselves in addition to the information provided here by partner agency staff members.
As noted in the literature review, 75% of families accessing food banks in the United States
believe cooking healthy meals is realistic for their family and 80% are interested in learning how
to cook healthy meals (Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters 2012). If there is a gap in
Spokane’s young low-income families, it is even more important to harness children’s cooking
enthusiasm by continuing partnerships with youth centers such as Youth For Christ and
Northeast Youth Center.
The ten community organizations represented in this assessment were on various levels
of the “Stages of Community Readiness”. Partners that solely provide a food pantry such as
Northwest Connect and Serve Spokane are in Preplanning to Preparation phases, where most of
the nutrition education is delivered passively through written materials. Other organizations such
as Youth For Christ offer informal learning opportunities for youth about healthy eating and
lifestyles and are likely in the initiation phase. Finally, The Salvation Army, Northeast Youth
Center, and Spokane Valley Partners are active in providing nutrition and cooking education to
their clients. I would place these three agencies who reported a 9-10 on readiness to expand their
services in the Confirmation and Expansion phase. As WSU FoodSense undergoes structural
changes, Second Harvest has an opportunity to act as a liaison between these agencies through
collaboration and advance consistent nutrition and cooking curriculums.

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References
Anderson, Sue 1990. “Core Indicators of Nutritional State for Difficult-to-Sample Populations”.
The Journal of Nutrition 120(11): 1555-1600.
Coleman-Jensen, Alisha; Gregory, Christian; Singh, Anita 2013. “Household Food Security in
the United States in 2013”. United States Department of Agriculture.
Coleman-Jensen, Alisha 2003. “U.S. Food Insecurity Status: Toward a Refined Definition”.
Social Indicators Research 95(2): 215-230.
Community Tool Box. “Chapter 2. Other Models for Promoting Community Health and
Development”. Retrieved from: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/models-for-
community-health-and-development/community-readiness/main
Damman, Kristen; Smith, Chery 2010. “Race, Homelessness, and Other Environmental Factors
Associated with the Food-Purchasing Behavior of Low-Income Women”. Journal of the
American Dietetic Association 110(9): 1351-1356.
Dominguez, Adrian; Wenzyl, Stacy; Wilson, Lyndia; McCullough, Joel; Riffe, Amy; Kaatz,
Cheri; Papich, Kim; Seyhanli, Naci 2012. “Odds Against Tomorrow: Health Inequities in
Spokane County”. Spokane Regional Health District: Community Health Assessment, Planning
and Evaluation Program.
Evans, Susan; Clarke, Peter; Koprowski, Carol 2009. “Information design to promote better
nutrition among pantry clients: four methods of formative evaluation”. Public Health Nutrition
13(3) 430-437.
Hamm, Michael; Bellows, Anne 2003. “Community Food Security and Nutrition Educators”.
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 35(1): 37-43.
Hoisington, Anne; Shultz Jill Armstrong; Butkus, Sue 2002. “Coping Strategies and Nutrition
Education Needs Among Food Pantry Users”. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
34(6): 326-333.
Kaiser, Michelle; Usher, Kareem; Spees, Colleen 2015. “Community Food Security Strategies:
An Exploratory Study of Their Potential for Food Insecure Households with Children”. Journal
of Applied Research on Children 6(2).
Olson, Christine; Holben, David 2002. “Position of the American Dietetic Association: Domestic
Food and Nutrition Security”. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 102(12): 1840-1847.
Mednik-Vaksman; Lund, Anne; Johnson, Donna 2016. “Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price
School Meals and Fruit and Vegetable Intake at Home and at School”. Journal of Hunger and
Environmental Nutrition 11(2): 272-279.
Pan, Liping; Sherry, Bettylou; Njai, Rashid; Blanck, Heidi 2012. “Food Insecurity Is Associated
with Obesity among US Adults in 12 States”. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
112(9): 1403-1409.

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Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters: No Kid Hungry and APCO Insight 2012. “It’s Dinner
time: A Report on Low-Income Families’ Efforts to Plan, Shop for and Cook Healthy Meals”.
Retrieved from: https://www.nokidhungry.org/images/cm-study/report-full.pdf
Townsend, Marilyn; Peerson, Janet; Love, Bradley; Achterberg, Cheryl; Murphy, Suzanne 2001.
“Food Insecurity Is Positively Related to Overweight in Women”. The Journal of Nutrition 131:
1738-1745.
Utter, Jennifer; Fay, Anna; Denny, Simon 2016. “Child and Youth Cooking Programs: More
Than Good Nutrition?”. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.
Webb, Karen; Campbell, Elizabeth; Ross, Michelle; Crawford, Patricia; Hecht, Ken; Shimada,
Tia 2012. Improving the Nutritional Quality of Foods Distributed to Lower-Income Families
through Emergency Food Services: A study of nutrition-related policies and practices of food
banks and food pantries. Retrieved from:
http://cwh.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/primary_pdfs/Improving_the_Nutritional_Quality_of_
Foods_Distributed_to_Lower-
Income_Families_through_Emergency_Food_Services_6.12_0.pdf

18. 18
Appendix A. Survey Questions

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21
Appendix B. Key Stakeholder Interview Script
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today and for filling out our survey last week.
The purpose of this assessment is to map food distribution and nutrition education services and
assess the willingness and capacity of organizations to participate in nutrition education. Our
survey gathered initial information regarding existing resources, barriers, and capacities. The
information that you share in this interview will be used to expand on the data gathered in the
survey and incorporated into a final report used by Second Harvest to inform our nutrition
education programs.
1. What are the three biggest needs of your organization?
(Probe) What would your organization need to meet these needs?
(If Nutrition Education Is Listed) Where do you receive information and/or resources
regarding nutrition, healthy foods, and/or healthy behaviors?
2. (If Food Pantry was marked as not or minimally meeting needs on survey) Your
organization’s survey response indicated that your food pantry is not meeting current needs.
Why do you believe your food pantry is not meeting the needs of your clients?
(Probe) Does your food pantry have a sufficient volume of food available to clients?
(Probe) What have you and/or your organization tried to do to improve your food pantry
program over the past year?
(Probe) What else could Second Harvest offer to make your food pantry program more
successful?
3. What is your perception of clients’ knowledge and attitudes toward taking and preparing
fruits and vegetables?
(Probe) What resources and/or techniques have you and your organization used to
encourage clients to take, prepare, and eat fresh produce and plant based proteins such as
chickpeas and lentils?
(Probe) If people who access your organization do not use fruits and vegetables, what are
some of the most popular items in your food pantry?
4. Do you believe clients need to access food from other sources outside of your organization?
(If Yes) What other resources do they use to supplement their food?

22. 22
5. (If they offer Nutrition and/or Cooking Classes) Can you describe what nutrition and
cooking classes look like at your organization?
(Probe) How long has your organization offered these classes?
(Probe) How have the classes evolved over the past year?
(Probe) Is there anything that you would like incorporated into your classes that you are
unable to offer at this time (ie. cooking, more classes, other topics, etc.)?
6. (If marked yes to being interested in implementing new programs or expanding on existing
food and nutrition education programs). On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest),
what is your level of interest in taking part or expanding on nutrition education programs?
7. (If marked yes to being interested in implementing new programs or expanding on existing
food and nutrition education programs). What nutrition and/or cooking topics would be
most beneficial to your clients in a nutrition education and/or cooking class?
(Probe) What kind of skills would clients need to increase healthy eating such as
preparing and eating fruits and vegetables?
(Probe) What information do you think your clients have toward meal planning and
maintaining a food budget? What kind of resources would be helpful in increasing their
skills?
8. (If marked yes to being interested in implementing new programs or expanding on existing
food and nutrition education programs). How would you like your nutrition education
and/or cooking classes to look like in three years? What goals do you have in implementing
or expanding your programs?
(Probe) How can Second Harvest help you achieve these goals?
9. What other thoughts do you have on food security and nutrition in your service area?
Thank you for your time in talking with me today! Your participation in our Community Needs
and Readiness Assessment is essential in meeting the needs of the Spokane community.