PARTNERS IN NUTRITION EDUCATION (PINE): A NUTRITION PROGRAM TO REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY IN GUILFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; background: white;">&nbsp;</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #2a2a2a;">In Guilford County, North Carolina, 13.7% of the population live in food deserts, neighborhoods that have a high prevalence of food insecurity, primarily located in impoverished Black areas. Consequently, Black neighborhoods suffer from increased chronic diseases.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Guilford County has a well-established network of food pantries and community resources to combat food insecurity, yet it persists. This proposal focuses on PINE (Partners in Nutrition Education), an evidence-based model that will implement nutrition education programming in these neighborhoods. This program will include informational sessions and cooking classes that are focused on the community families. The collaboration of a diverse team of stakeholders from the community, education, charitable, and government sectors will be involved in the plan, implementation, and evaluation. The program will be evaluated using the USDA Food Security survey pre-test and post-test as an indicator of the effectiveness of nutrition education in food insecurity reduction. </span> &nbsp; <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in; line-height: 200%;"><em><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Keywords:</span></em><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> North Carolina, Guilford County, food deserts, food insecurity, Black, impoverished, food pantries, nutrition education.</span>