Integrating Food Insecurity Data Systems to Support Public and Population Health Action in Maine

School of Public and Planetary Health (SPPH) presents:

Food insecurity (FIS) in Maine remains a serious and complex challenge, impacting both physical and mental health. It is widely recognized that addressing this challenge requires high levels of coordination across multiple sectors including public health and social services agencies,schools, community-based organizations, and healthcare organizations; achieving food security requires strong connected communities.

Existing data sources differ in their demographic coverage and geographic scope and lack the spatial resolution needed to inform targeted action and foster the partnerships necessary to comprehensively address food access.

This gap has become even more urgent following the recent federal announcement that national food security data collection will be discontinued, creating a vacuum in standardized monitoring and underscoring the need for state-level, model-based approaches. 

Join Kevin Konty and Nicole Hewes of Apriqot Inc as they describe an initiative to integrate these data systems to generate actionable, high-resolution, sub-county maps of FIS in Maine. Our approach synthesizes small-area models used by Feeding America, FIS patterns described in state reports, and data from health-system screening.

Results reveal substantial within-county variation in FIS risk, reflecting patterns of poverty, disability, unemployment, and access to resources. These maps can be utilized by health departments, healthcare systems, and food distribution organizations in Maine to coordinate responses, target outreach, and allocate resources based on geographic need.