1. Food Security: Collaboration between University and Community
Karen W.R. Lin, MD, MS, FAAFP
Assistant Dean, Global Health
Family Medicine and Community Health
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
AAFP-GHW
Over 55% speak another language besides English at home
31..4% population live below the poverty line (in comparison, 9.9% live below poverty line in NJ state)
Feeding America report: 10.8% food insecure in the county

2. Healthy Garden and Healthy Living
A creative intervention to integrate mental health into primary care for those who suffer illness from food insecure, poor diet and inconsistent access.
1/ :33
1/ :32

3. Collaboration Partners
University partners: Rutgers University
Family Medicine and Community Health:
faculty and students
Landscape Architecture:
Community Partners: Elijah’s Promise
Clients who are homeless and eat at Soup Kitchen
Gardening instructor of Community Garden Coalition & Food Alliance
Bee hives instructor
Elijah was a Hebrew prophet of 9th century “the Lord is my god”, left this earth in a blazing chariot ascending to heaven.
promise is an acronym:
Empowering
Lives
Inviting
Justice
Alleviating
Hunger
Food changes Lives

4. Rutgers University Landscape Architecture
Dr. Alomar
Landstewardship in Urban underserved community
Use of sketching, mapping and garden stories to describe nonprofessional designs

5. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
14 of 21 members of honor society works at Promise Clinic

6. Elijah’s Promise Empowering Lives Inviting Justice Alleviating Hunger
A passage in the Hebrew bible:
The prophet Elijah is called by God to stay with a widow at Zarephath during a severe famine (hunger)
Elijah asked the widow for food and water, The widow showed that she has enough food for only one final meal.
Elijah promised that she will never lack what she needs if she shared with him.
After she fed Elijah, the widow’s jar of flour remains full even amidst a harsh famine.
The philosophy is
By sharing not only what we have, but also the tools for people to feed themselves, no one in our community needs to go hungry.
1989, 3 local churches
1997 Promise culinary school- professional culinary curriculum
2010, Baking and Pastry program –professional baking
2009 A Better World Café , philosophy of OWEE helping to end hunger with pay-what-you –can community cafes

7. Protocol Purpose: Question:
Understand the relationship between participation in a community garden and improvement of health outcomes for a population in New Brunswick
Promote community-based health, and benefit students’ learning.
Question:
Will creative learning opportunities foster positive physical, emotional and social health outcomes?

8. Hypothesis
The measureable body height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and mood will improve with 16 weeks of gardening activities.
the sketching is an embodied exercise that improves attitudes, cognition and memory.

9. Measuring outcomes Pre- participating assessment
Post- participating assessment
Measurement
weight, height, basic body index
Waist circumferences
blood pressure
PHQ-9 (patient health questions for depression)
Written /drawing reflections

10. IRB Institutional Review Board application
Protocol
Consent form
Outreach flyers – recruitment of clients
Pre-project assessment
Post-project assessment
PHQ-9 forms
All bilingual documents, English and Spanish.
Budget

11. Outcomes 10 of 13 participants completed project
100 % improvement on PHQ-9
50% showed improvement on blood pressure, BMI and waist circumferences.
Improvement was more in the first 8 weeks, than the second 8 weeks.
171 reflections demonstrated therapeutic effect.

12. Interpretation
The project helps to re-discover self-confidence, talent, mutual respect and responsibility.
Creative learning and support can impact positively on physical, mental and social health outcomes.

13. Lesson learned Funding – own backyard, sustainability
IRB challenges – timing, process, communication between different IRB offices of schools.
University policy and community expectation
Fund transfer from grant office to host department to partners
Client expectation of Stipend payment
Nature of the garden project is limited by weather: – extremely hot in July, very cold in October,
Index set up in Sept
Cash payment, school will not dispense cash
Community partner help out