PRIMARY CARE DIETITIANS' ASSOCIATION

Abstract Submission # 1:

 

Title: From Pantry to Primary Care: The Expanding Role of Dietitians in Advancing Food Security and Health Equity

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Author: Marg Alfieri

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A governance and community leadership model linking a rural food pantry with team-based primary care to address social determinants of health

 

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how dietitians can extend their role beyond clinical care into leadership, governance, and community partnerships to address food insecurity.

2. Identify practical strategies to integrate food security into team-based primary care, including referral pathways, partnerships, and community engagement.

3. Apply a scalable, dietitian-led model to strengthen collaboration between primary care and community food resources to advance health equity in rural settings.

Background and Objectives
Food insecurity is a critical and often under-recognized determinant of health in primary care. In rural communities such as Grand Bend, Ontario, limited access to primary care providers, transportation barriers, and rising food costs exacerbate health inequities. Dietitians are uniquely positioned to address food insecurity beyond individual counselling, extending into leadership, governance, and community system integration. This initiative highlights the expanded role of dietitians in advancing health equity through. The objective is to demonstrate how a dietitian, serving in governance and community leadership roles, can mobilize partnerships with a Community Health Centre to improve access to nutritious food and address social determinants of health at a population level.

Approach/Intervention
In my dual roles as Chair of the Grand Bend Community Food Pantry and Board Chair of the Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre (GBACHC), I led a collaborative, systems-level approach to integrate food security within primary care. Key strategies included: (1) strengthening linkages between primary care providers and the food pantry through informal screening and referral pathways; (2) expanding pantry operations to a seven-day model supported by approximately 50 volunteers; and (3) aligning food pantry growth with the health centre’s strategic priorities related to health equity and attachment to care.

The initiative also involved building partnerships with local businesses, food rescue organizations, and municipal leaders to enhance food access and sustainability. Governance work included advancing structures to transition the pantry toward charitable status and ensuring accountability and sustainability. Additional efforts focused on volunteer engagement, student placement opportunities, and community awareness campaigns to normalize food insecurity as a health issue within primary care conversations.

Results
This integrated leadership model has strengthened collaboration between primary care and community food resources, improving access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations. The food pantry has significantly expanded its capacity, now operating daily and distributing a broader range of foods, including fresh produce and rescued items.

Primary care teams have increased awareness of food insecurity as a determinant of health and are more frequently connecting patients with community supports. Community engagement has grown substantially, with strong volunteer participation and sustained partnerships. While formal data collection systems are in development, early indicators include increased pantry utilization, improved reliability of access, and reduced stigma associated with seeking food support.

Conclusion / Next Steps
This initiative demonstrates the influential role dietitians can play in leadership and governance to address food insecurity in partnership with team-based primary care. By bridging clinical systems and community resources, dietitians can drive scalable, equity-focused solutions.

Next steps include implementing standardized food insecurity screening within primary care, developing shared metrics between the health centre and pantry, and formalizing the pantry’s transition to a registered charity. This model offers a replicable framework for dietitians to lead community-integrated approaches to food security and health equity.

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