The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #33775

Sharla M. Jennings, MS¹, Nancy Cotugna, DrPH, RD, CDN², and Connie E. Vickery, PhD, RD¹. (1) Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Delaware, Alison Hall 238, Newark, DE 19716, 301-772-6429, sharla.jennings@fns.usda.gov, (2) Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Delaware, 238 Alison Hall, Newark, DE 19716

In the past, the Food Bank of Delaware’s (FBD) outreach activities included tours, newsletters, videos, newspaper articles, radio and television advertisements. While all of these activities have been effective, they only reached a limited number of people and were time consuming for staff members. This study was designed to determine the current level of knowledge of hunger-related issues among a convenience sample of Delawareans. We also assessed whether raising knowledge and awareness of the hunger problem through the FBD’s Web site would encourage participation in anti-hunger activities. Via e-mail, 392 individuals agreed to participate in a 3-phase online survey. Phase I questions were answered prior to viewing the Web site, phase II immediately afterward and phase III six weeks later. Responses indicated a high level of awareness about general hunger issues, while specific knowledge proved to be lower. Forty one percent of phase III respondents were motivated by the Web site to engage in an anti-hunger activity; 34% had told others about the Web site, indicating to researchers that it could be a useful tool in anti-hunger outreach efforts for the FBD. Food banks in other areas should consider establishing Web sites to take advantage of this outreach tool in their communities. Currently only about half of the food banks in the Second Harvest Network have Web sites. This type of positive response lends a clue to the potential outreach power of a Web site for social service agencies such as food banks.

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