LAUSR

* Abbreviations: app — : application FI — : food insecurity SNAP — : Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program USDA — : US Department of Agriculture WIC — : Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Maya is a 4-year-old girl who is presenting to our office for her well-child check. A familiar mark on her social screening questionnaire reveals that her family is worried that their food budget will run out before the end of the month. As we enter the room, we catch Maya’s mother in a yawn; she apologizes because she came straight from an overnight shift. Maya and her sister, both with juice-stained lips, are immersed in a video that is playing on their mother’s smartphone as we discuss growth charts and inhalers. Finally, we turn to Maya’s dietary history and the potential reality of food insecurity (FI). As our conversation starts, the phone rings, interrupting the video and our conversation. The family’s ride is out front, and they cannot wait. As they are rushing out the door, all we can do is provide them with a list of local food pantries. We are left dissatisfied. With recent advances in technology, how might we have more effectively and efficiently addressed this family’s FI? One in 6 American families experience FI, an inadequate access to food because of a lack of money or other resources.1 As pediatricians, we must identify and appropriately respond to FI.2 Although screening can help identify some children with FI, others may present more insidiously, with developmental delays, behavioral problems, or frequent hospitalizations, the effects of which may carry into adulthood.3 Pediatric trainees, who are often on the frontline providing primary care to at-risk families, are in a unique position to identify and respond to the needs … Address correspondence to Michelle Phan, MD, Pediatric Residency Program, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail: michelle.phan{at}cchmc.org