Abstract Title: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Larner College of Medicine's SNAP Challenge

Background: Food insecurity is a critical public health issue in the United States. Despite the essential role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in mitigating food insecurity, many medical professionals lack a deep understanding of its challenges and benefits. The Larner College of Medicine's SNAP Challenge aimed to bridge this gap by having participants live on the average SNAP benefit for Vermont for one day and participate in a week-long series of events addressing food insecurity. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the SNAP Challenge in enhancing Medical Students' and Staff's knowledge and attitudes towards food insecurity.

Methods: Data were collected before and after the challenge and associated events from 36 medical students and one staff member. Surveys assessed five areas on a Likert-scale: understanding of food insecurity, awareness of available resources, empathy towards individuals facing food insecurity, confidence in navigating food insecurity resources, and agreement with the adequacy of SNAP benefits. Descriptive statistics, Welch's t-tests, linear regression, and visualizations were completed using R (version 4.0.5). Participants also provided qualitative feedback on the SNAP Challenge through open-ended survey questions addressing their experiences, learning outcomes, and suggestions for improvement.

Results: The SNAP Challenge significantly improved participants' understanding (mean increase from 2.70 to 3.41, p = 0.0095), awareness (mean increase from 2.50 to 3.53, p = 0.0078), and confidence (mean increase from 2.70 to 3.59, p = 0.0151). Linear regression analysis showed that post-intervention survey time was a significant predictor of higher scores in understanding (β = 0.71, p = 0.012), awareness (β = 1.01, p = 0.008), and confidence (β = 0.85, p = 0.010). Qualitative analysis revealed that participants found planning meals and avoiding hunger to be the most challenging aspects of the SNAP Challenge, and they highlighted the extensive planning required to eat nutritiously on a limited budget.

Conclusion: The SNAP Challenge, coupled with a week of educational events, effectively enhanced participants' understanding, awareness, and confidence in addressing food insecurity. This demonstrates the value of experiential learning as an educational tool in medical training. While empathy and perceptions of SNAP adequacy did not significantly change, the challenge highlighted the importance of sustained interventions to influence deeper empathetic responses and perceptions of food assistance programs. These findings support the integration of experiential learning in medical education to better prepare future healthcare professionals to advocate for and support patients experiencing food insecurity.