Blair Valerie, Eville Eleanor, Johnson Christine, Monahan Heather
Nova Scotia Health, Public Health, Dartmouth, NS, Canada.
Nova Scotia Health, Public Health, Amherst, NS, Canada.
Can J Public Health. 2025 Feb;116(1):50-58. doi: 10.17269/s41997-024-00929-y. Epub 2024 Sep 9.
Public health measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted Nova Scotians experiencing food insecurity. Public Health (PH), Nova Scotia Health, created a provincial Housing Isolation Program (HIP) which addressed barriers to isolation, including food access, for COVID-19 cases and contacts being followed by PH.
HIP worked with partners to coordinate and respond to urgent food needs of isolating clients by providing grocery and meal delivery options. HIP also made referrals to government and community partners for income and food supports. This program was intended to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by facilitating isolation while meeting basic needs for people with no other means of support.
From December 2020 to March 2022, HIP completed grocery and meal deliveries for 579 clients, 1351 referrals to a provincial Income Support Program, and 231 referrals to external food supports. HIP staff worked with clients to manage potential perceptions of stigma. Challenges reported included the urgency of food needs, lack of social supports, and availability and accessibility constraints in rural communities, as well as difficulty accessing culturally appropriate foods and special diets.
This intervention demonstrates the importance of addressing food insecurity during emergency preparedness, planning, and response. During emergencies, planning and mobilizing food access requires an equity-oriented approach to overcome stigma. Broadly, continued reliance on charitable responses creates significant vulnerability during emergencies and addressing root causes of food insecurity through social policy will provide longer-term protection.
在新冠疫情期间实施的公共卫生措施对新斯科舍省面临粮食不安全问题的居民产生了重大影响。新斯科舍省卫生厅的公共卫生部门设立了一项省级住房隔离计划（HIP），该计划解决了新冠病例及公共卫生部门追踪的密切接触者在隔离方面的障碍，包括食物获取问题。
HIP与合作伙伴合作，通过提供食品杂货配送和送餐服务来协调并满足隔离客户的紧急食品需求。HIP还向政府和社区合作伙伴转介，以获取收入和食品支持。该计划旨在通过促进隔离，同时满足没有其他支持手段的人群的基本需求，来尽量减少新冠病毒的传播。
从2020年12月到2022年3月，HIP为579名客户完成了食品杂货配送和送餐服务，向省级收入支持计划转介了1351人次，并向外部食品支持机构转介了231人次。HIP工作人员与客户合作，管理可能存在的耻辱感认知。报告的挑战包括食品需求的紧迫性、缺乏社会支持、农村社区的供应和可及性限制，以及获取符合文化习惯的食物和特殊饮食的困难。
这项干预措施表明在应急准备、规划和应对过程中解决粮食不安全问题的重要性。在紧急情况下，规划和调动食品获取需要一种以公平为导向的方法来克服耻辱感。总体而言，在紧急情况下持续依赖慈善应对措施会造成重大脆弱性，通过社会政策解决粮食不安全的根本原因将提供更长期的保护。
