Needs and Preferences Among Food Pantry Clients

Caspi, Caitlin E.; Davey, Cynthia; Barsness, Christina Bliss; Gordon, Nora; Bohen, Laura; Canterbury, Marna; Peterson, H. Christopher; Pratt, Rebekah

doi:10.5888/pcd18.200531

Cited by 37 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This network provides food for millions of low-income households each year, playing an important role in supporting household food security. Because many households experience food insecurity chronically, the charitable food system has become a regular source of food that contributes substantially to the overall dietary intake of individuals living in these households [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrition standards for the charitable food system: challenges and opportunities

et al. 2022

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Food insecurity is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and poor dietary intake. The United States charitable food system, a complex network of food banks, pantries and congregate meal sites, provides food for millions of low-income households each year. Food banks and pantries play a critical role in supporting food security and are an important contributor to dietary intake for its clients. In recent years, there has been an increased focus on sourcing and supplying more nutritious foods within the charitable food system. Despite this, there is a lack of alignment in how the charitable food system defines and tracks the nutritional quality of food.In 2019, Healthy Eating Research convened a panel of nutrition, charitable food system and food policy experts to create a set of evidence-based nutrition standards. Standards were developed based on a review of the literature and existing nutrition ranking systems, while also considering the operational needs and capacity of the charitable food system. The panel provided recommendations for eleven distinct food categories: fruits and vegetables, grains, protein, dairy, non-dairy alternatives, beverages, mixed dishes, processed and packaged snacks, desserts, condiments and cooking staples, and other miscellaneous items. Products are ranked into three tiers, choose often (green), choose sometimes (yellow) or choose rarely (red), based on designated saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar thresholds. This paper outlines the expert panel’s approach and summarizes the barriers and opportunities for implementing these standards across the charitable food system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrition standards for the charitable food system: challenges and opportunities

et al. 2022

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“…HPP pantries generally viewed HPP as aligned with common organizational goals of supporting the health of clients without compromising their ability to choose. The ability to make choices is one of the most important pantry factors identified by clients [5]. The behavioral strategies used in HPP likely promoted buy-in among client-choice pantries since maintaining choice was one of highest priorities of these pantries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although some pantries are making efforts to stock healthier foods, groceries offered at food pantries often lack the nutritional value necessary to support healthy diets [4]. Prior surveys have demonstrated that clients consider healthy foods as one of the most important pantry priorities [5,6]. Evidence-based strategies to change the nutritional quality of available foods and promote selection of healthier foods by food pantry clients are important tools to mitigate adverse health outcomes in food-insecure households.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A food bank program to help food pantries improve healthy food choices: mixed methods evaluation of The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Healthy Pantry Program

et al. 2023

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Background The Greater Boston Food Bank’s (GBFB) Healthy Pantry Program (HPP) is an online training that teaches food pantry staff to implement behavioral nudges (e.g., traffic-light nutrition labels, choice architecture) to promote healthier client choices. This study assessed if HPP was associated with healthier food bank orders by food pantries and identified implementation facilitators and barriers. Methods This mixed methods study collected quantitative data from a matched cohort of 10 HPP food pantries and 99 matched control food pantries in eastern Massachusetts that allow clients to choose their own food, and qualitative data from structured individual interviews with 8 HPP pantry staff. A difference-in-differences analysis compared changes in percentage of pantries’ food bank orders (by weight) of foods labeled green/yellow (healthier choices) and fresh produce from baseline to 6 and 10 months between HPP and control pantries. Interviews were coded for implementation facilitators and barriers. Results Before starting HPP, green-yellow ordering was 92.0% (SD 4.9) in control and 87.4% (SD 5.4) in HPP pantries. Participation in HPP was not associated with changes in green-yellow or fresh produce ordering at 6 or 10 months. HPP implementation facilitators included HPP training being accessible (sub-themes: customizable, motivating) and compatible with client-choice values. Barriers included resource limitations (sub-themes: staff shortage, limited space) and concerns about stigmatizing client food choices with use of labels for unhealthy foods. Conclusions An online program to help pantries promote healthier client choices was not associated with changes in how much healthy food pantries ordered from the food bank, suggesting it did not substantially change client choices. Implementation challenges and high baseline healthy ordering may have influenced HPP’s effectiveness.

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“…Those who visit food pantries—referred to as clients in much of the previous research literature [ 7 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], but also called neighbors or guests [ 23 ]—often visit food pantries frequently over a long period of time [ 17 , 18 , 24 , 25 ]. As a result, food from pantries may comprise a substantial portion of the total food for a household experiencing food insecurity [ 26 ]. In Minnesota, a statewide survey of food pantry clients indicated that the majority received half or more of their total food from the food pantry; visited the pantry at least monthly; and had been visiting for a year or more [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, food from pantries may comprise a substantial portion of the total food for a household experiencing food insecurity [ 26 ]. In Minnesota, a statewide survey of food pantry clients indicated that the majority received half or more of their total food from the food pantry; visited the pantry at least monthly; and had been visiting for a year or more [ 26 ]. Growing evidence suggests that among those who rely on food pantries, food obtained at the food pantry has a higher nutritional quality than food from other sources [ 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validating a Nutrition Ranking System for Food Pantries Using the Healthy Eating Index-2015

Gombi-Vaca

Schwartz

et al. 2022

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In 2020, charitable food organizations began adopting Healthy Eating Research (HER) nutrition guidelines, which rank individual foods in tiers (e.g., green, yellow, or red) based on each food’s nutrient profile. This study aimed to validate this HER tier-ranked system against the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI) and develop a formula to summarize the percentages of tier-ranked foods in an overall nutritional quality index that correlated with HEI. Using secondary data of foods selected by clients in 16 Minnesota food pantries (n = 503 “client carts”), we generated an HEI score and percentages of green, yellow, and red foods for each cart. As validation, we tested the association between HEI scores and the percentages of tier-ranked foods and compared the means of the tier-ranked variables using quintiles of the HEI scores. HEI scores were positively associated with percentages of green foods and negatively associated with percentages of red foods. Next, we used statistical learning to generate weights to maximize the correlation of the tier-ranked variables and the HEI scores and used these weights to create an index. The index demonstrated a moderate-to-strong correlation with HEI and can be used as a single measure to summarize the overall nutritional quality for sets of tier-ranked foods.

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Needs and Preferences Among Food Pantry Clients

Cited by 37 publications

References 27 publications

Nutrition standards for the charitable food system: challenges and opportunities

Nutrition standards for the charitable food system: challenges and opportunities

A food bank program to help food pantries improve healthy food choices: mixed methods evaluation of The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Healthy Pantry Program

Validating a Nutrition Ranking System for Food Pantries Using the Healthy Eating Index-2015

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