Pat Van Burkleo on Tackling Barriers to Food Access

The executive director of Feeding Louisiana of the Louisiana Food Bank Association, Pat Van Burkleo shares the key topics addressed during the Ochsner Health IVBM panel discussion on scaling food access initiatives in communities across the state.

Transcript

What did you cover in the Ochsner Health IVBM panel discussion?

We really ended up talking about food access, and the barriers that we faced in the state and really across the nation on some things that are administratively barriers for people to have access to food. So I did talk about the rule issues and getting the food out to the community parishes. We also talked about student applications for SNAP, and there's a requirement that a student has to work 20 hours a week to receive SNAP—if you're a full-time student. We're trying to elevate people out of poverty and education is the way to do that but then we put this burden on them, they also have to have a job to get food. And we really think that that's a huge barrier for a lot of kids. We know that there are a staggering amount of children, young adults on college campuses that don't have access to food. And the other thing we really talked about was access to seniors and getting seniors more involved in the SNAP programs and in and we have communication barriers with seniors that there's a message out there, that it's not worth it to apply for SNAP and we say it's just the opposite. It really is. And you don't make that determination whether you qualify or not—apply and let's get it done.

In the state of Louisiana we now have a new policy that if you're on a fixed income, you only have to apply every 3 years for SNAP if you're a senior, which is great, you don't have to do this every year. I mean, technology is an issue, and pulling all that stuff together is an issue. For me, as well as a senior who may not have the resources that I have. But it's great that we have this new policy that they only have to do this 3 years, and they qualify for SNAP. But we talked about those barriers, and then how that impacts health. And, you know, when you’re food insecure there's a relationship between food insecurity and obesity. And you would think it would be just the opposite, but it's not. The variety of foods you have and the choices that you make are limited. And so you're probably not making the best decisions on food, because they're not available to you.