Evaluate and Sustain Effective, Non-Traditional Senior Nutrition Program Delivery Models - Project Type: B. This collaborative, multidisciplinary Team proposes the following: Goal. Evaluate and sustain a scalable, non-traditional, multi-platform, food delivery application (Nutrition for Underserved Elderly Via Application-NUEVA) that improves food & nutrition security, loneliness & socialization, and health & mental health status of elderly underserved and reduces food loss and waste (FLW) in Central Texas. Objective (Obj) 1. Develop, test, and validate NUEVA, an Internet food delivery application (IFDA) that will link elderly underserved, charitable transportation, and food providers. 1a. Evaluate changes in food insecurity resulting from in-application scheduled or just-in-time food delivery. 1b. Evaluate changes in nutrition intake and associated health status resulting from an in-application, individual risk-tailored nutrition recommender system. 1c. Evaluate changes in loneliness / social isolation and associated mental health status resulting from embedded video conferencing to support contactless socialization between the deliverer and the elderly. 1d. Evaluate changes in unmet need by generating geo-location maps from application data. 1e. Evaluate FLW reductions and associated environmental impacts resulting from NUEVA. Obj 2. Develop, educate, expand, and sustain the network of community stakeholders, beneficiaries, and donors participating in the use of the IFDA to address food & nutrition insecurity, loneliness / social isolation, and health & mental health of the underserved elderly as well as FLW. Obj 3. Operate, expand, and sustain the transportation network that will provide near expiry nutritious food while simultaneously reducing FLW through optimized just-in-time delivery. Measured outcomes will evaluate 1. changes in food security, 2. changes in nutrition security, 3. changes in loneliness / social isolation, 4. changes in health / mental health status, 5. changes in food loss & waste, 6. changes in supply versus demand gap by location. Products will include 1. The NUEVA multi-platform IFDA, 2. Annual program assessments & Capstone Project posted on the NUEVA program’s website proposed as nueva.txstate.edu, 3. Ten or more publications, and 4. Five or more conference presentations. This project is an extension of Internet application efforts that emerged during COVID-19 and thus is considered a Type B application with 25% match.
