Abstract
Background
Emergency foods distributed during a federal disaster relief response must follow
the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans according to the 1990 National Nutrition
Monitoring Related Research Act. Nutrition information about emergency foods for household
distribution is scarce.
Methods
According to structured observation protocols, foods received daily at a federal distribution
center in Puerto Rico after Hurricane María (November 10-25, 2017) were grouped into
Dietary Guidelines for Americans ChooseMyPlate food groups. Data about their sodium,
saturated fat, added sugar, and fiber content per serving were captured. Registered
dietitians designed meal plans with the foods distributed.
Results
Of 107 unique food items, 41% were snacks and sweets; and 13%, 4%, 13%, and 7% were
fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains, respectively. Fifty-eight percent of all
foods were low in fiber (≤1 g); 46% included high amounts of sodium, saturated fats,
or added sugars (≥20% daily value). The registered dietitians were able to design
meal plans that complied with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans food group recommendations,
but they exceeded upper daily limits for sodium, saturated fat, or added sugars.
Conclusions
In view of projected increases in natural disasters and diet-related chronic diseases,
DGA compliance must be improved so that federal emergency foods can support the health
of survivors.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Differential and persistent risk of excess mortality from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico: A time-series analysis.Lancet Planet Health. 2018; 2: e478-e488
- Use of death counts from vital statistics to calculate excess deaths in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.JAMA. 2018; 320: 1491-1493
- Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.N Engl J Med. 2018; 379: 162-170
- High prevalence of overweight and obesity among a representative sample of Puerto Rican children.BMC Public Health. 2015; 15: 219
- Major cardiovascular risk factors in Latin America: A comparison with the United States. The Latin American Consortium of Studies in Obesity (LASO).PloS One. 2013; 8: e54056
- Puerto Rico's agriculture and farmers decimated by Maria. New York Times.(Published September 24, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Hurricanes Maria & Irma Event Summary (Report #69).(Published October 20, 2017. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- Static on the relief channel. Supply Chain Resilience and the 2017 Hurricane Season. Arlington, VA: to the Analysis & Solutions.(Published October 2018. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report.(Published July 12, 2018. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Retail resilience in Puerto Rico. Supply Chain Resilience and the 2017 Hurricane Season. Arlington, Vto theCNA Analysis & Solutions.(Published October, 2018. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- With widespread power failures, Puerto Rico is cash only. The New York Times.(Published September 29, 2017. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. President Donald J. Trump Signs Emergency Declaration for Puerto Rico HQ-17-125.(Published September 18, 2017. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- National Response Framework. 3rd ed.(Published June 2016. Accessed March 4, 2019)
- US Department of Agriculture. Food Assistance for Disaster R–lief - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Disaster Nutrition Assistance.(Published September 20, 2017. Revised September 7, 2018. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- H.R. 1608 (101st): National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990.Public Law. 1990; 101: 445https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/101/hr1608Date accessed: March 5, 2019
- Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020.https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/Date accessed: March 5, 2019
- Responsibilities of the USDA-Food and Nutrition Service in nutrition assistance response to natural disasters.J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2015; 61: S14
- US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Food Distribution Division. USDA Foods Program Disaster Manual. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.(Revised September 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Puerto Rico Food Aid from GA contractor sparks outrage. The Atlanta Journal Constitution.(Published November 13, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Why FEMA sent ‘junk food’ to Puerto Rican hurricane survivors. Washington Post. Washington, DC. 2017.(Published October 24, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- FEMA contracts with company to send junk food aid to Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico. Daily KOS. 2017.(Published November 15, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time.HarperCollins, New York, NY2018
- Preocupado alcalde de Cayey por contenido nutricional de comida militar. TunoticiaPR.com.(Published October 18, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Case Study Research: Design and Methods.5th ed. SAGE Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA2013
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. Cadena de Distribucion Huracan Maria. 2017.(Published October 5, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane Maria Update (Release Number: R2 DR 4339-PR NR 023).(Published October 19, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. FR Doc. 2018–00814. Federal Register: The Daily Journal of the United States Government: National Archives and Records Administration.(Published January 12, 2018. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Communications Status Report for Areas Impacted by Hurricane Maria.(Published September 24, 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- US Census Bureau, American Fact Finder: Percent of related children under 18 years below poverty level in the past 12 months - by State and for Puerto Rico. 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
- Magpi: Advanced mobile data, messaging, and visualization [mobile application].https://home.magpi.com/Date accessed: March 5, 2019
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. What We Eat in America Food Categories 2013-2014.www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrgDate accessed: March 5, 2019
- The SQUIRE guidelines: A scholarly approach to quality improvement.J Grad Med Educ. 2016; 8: 771-772
- Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Scientific report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture. US Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services–USA, Washington DC.(Last Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Food and Drug Administration. Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods that Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion; Dual-Column Labeling; Updating, Modifying, and Establishing Certain Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed; Serving Size for Breath Mints; and Technical Amendments. FDA-2004-N-0258-01362016.(Published May 27, 2016. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- US Department of Agriculture. Supertracker Database.https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/Date accessed: May 5, 2018
- Fooducate LTD © 2010-2018 [database].https://www.fooducate.com/Date accessed: March 5, 2019
- Combat Rations Database - MRE's 2016. Uniformed Services University, Consortium for Health and Military Performance.https://www.hprc-online.org/page/combat-rations-database-comradDate accessed: March 5, 2019
- World Health Organization. Noncommunicable Diseases Progress Monitor 2017.(Published September 2017. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Food and Nutrition Service. Certification of Compliance With Meal Requirements for the National School Lunch Program Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010; Correction. Federal Register: The Daily Journal of the United States Government: National Archives and Records Administration.(Published January 16, 2014. Accessed March 5, 2019)
- Principles of emergency feeding for a large metropolitan area in catastrophe.Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1952; 42: 373-378
- How an ocean climate cycle favored Harvey.Science. 2017; 357: 853-854
Biography
U. Colón-Ramos is an associate professor, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Biography
A. A. Roess is an assistant professor, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Biography
K. Robien is an associate professor and a certified specialist in oncology nutrition, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Biography
P. D. Marghella is a professional lecturer and a certified emergency manager, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Biography
R. J. Waldman is is a professor, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Biography
K. A. Merrigan is executive director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, and a professor of practice, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe; at the time of the study, she was a professor, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GW Food Institute, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 12, 2019
Accepted:
March 21,
2019
Received:
October 18,
2018
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This research was funded by a grant from the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center through its Quick Response Grant Program, which is funded by National Science Foundation grant number CMMI1333610.
DATA STATEMENT A total of 189 photos of pallets, boxes, and their contents were taken during the period of observation (the full set of pictures available upon request from the corresponding author).
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- CorrigendumJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsVol. 120Issue 5
- PreviewIn “Foods Distributed During Federal Disaster Relief Response in Puerto Rico After Hurricane María Did Not Fully Meet Federal Nutrition Recommendations” in the November 2019 issue of the Journal (pp 1903-1915), Tables 1-3 refer to “Total cholesterol” instead of “Total carbohydrates”. The Journal regrets this error.
- Full-Text
- Preview
