Empowering Community Leadership: Perspectives of Peer Mentors Facilitating a Food Pantry-Based Nutrition Education Program.

ABSTRACT

Peer Mentors (PMs) are valuable health educators within food-insecure communities; however, little is known about PMs' perspectives and experiences after serving in their peer mentor role. Therefore, this qualitative study explored PMs' (n = 10) perceptions and analyzed data using thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology. Four themes emerged (1) Successes and Struggles in Sharing Nutrition Knowledge; (2) Establishing a Conducive Learning Environment; (3) The Peer Mentor and Mentee Connection Impact of Shared Experiences; (4) Empowerment of the Peer Mentor Experience. PMs have many advantages; however, more research is needed to evaluate the sustainability and efficacy of PMs within food-insecure communities.