Patient experiences and provider perspectives on a hospital-based food pantry: a mixed methods evaluation study

Abstract

Objective:The purpose of this evaluation study was to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement in programme functioning and common aspects of patients’ experiences at a hospital-based food pantry.Design:Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with patients and a cross-sectional survey for providers were used. Interview transcripts were coded using both inductive and deductive approaches and assessed for inter-rater reliability. Descriptive statistics were produced from quantitative data.Setting:An academic urban safety-net hospital in the Northeastern US offering inpatient and outpatient services.Participants:Thirty patients and 89 providers.Results:Patients expressed feeling comfortable, trusting the food, high satisfaction with food quality, convenience, and lack of stigma at the hospital-based pantry. Patients mentioned the pantry helped them eat more fruits and vegetables, but expressed concerns about the healthfulness of other foods distributed. Providers believed they should discuss food insecurity (FI) with patients (99 %) and that the pantry improves the health of patients (97 %), but faced barriers to consistently screening for FI and referring patients to the pantry, such as insufficient training on FI (53 %) and time constraints (35 %).Conclusions:Findings suggest hospital-based food pantries may have several advantages. Hospitals with onsite food pantries must work to eliminate barriers to FI screening and pantry referral. To optimize their impact, such pantries should develop nutritional guidelines for food donations and connect patients with nutrition education resources. Future research should examine health outcomes for patients using hospital-based food pantries.

Link between redemption of a medical food pantry voucher and reduced hospital readmissions

“…For example, food insecure patients at a student-run ambulatory clinic were connected with local off-site food resources after their discharge but showed low rates of utilization. 35 These lower rates of utilization were likely due to short windows of availability, challenges accessing continuous supply of volunteers, and difficulty informing patients of operating hours ( Greenthal et al, 2019 ). Low utilization rates could also result from the negative social stigma associated with certain community organization and patients reportedly perceived MFPs differently than other community resources suggesting that partnerships between pantries and healthcare organizations may improve use ( Musicus et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Few studies have evaluated MFPs, particularly those associated with hospitals. Gany et al (2015) examined the utilization of MFPs by urban cancer patients but lacked data on patient health outcomes to correlate with MFP usage ( Greenthal et al, 2019 ). The first hospital-based food pantry study, published in 2019, focused on patient’s utilization of a 20-year-old pantry and highlighted the potential for reduced stigma ( Musicus et al, 2019 ).…”

Food Insecurity, Dietary Quality, and Health Care Utilization in Lower-Income Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Integrated outpatient, inpatient, and mental health care services that screen for and provide referrals and resources to address food insecurity and other health-related social needs could improve the engagement of food-insecure individuals in preventive medical care, an area of particular interest with Medicaid and Medicare populations. 42 For example, some major health care systems have hospital-based food pantries for primary care patients 43 and food prescriptions for patients with chronic disease to improve disease management. 44 Others provide robust referral systems to leverage existing community organizations, as well as underutilized federal resources, 45 including SNAP and (WIC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which have been shown to be associated with improved health outcomes and reduced health care expenditures.…”

Missed opportunities to improve food security for pregnant people: a qualitative study of prenatal care settings in Northern New England during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Third, the ability to offer onsite food support within the clinic can motivate care teams to discuss food needs, build trust with patients, address urgent needs, and remove transportation and other barriers to food access. Onsite support could be in the form of a preventive food pantry [ 25 ], shelf-stable food boxes, snacks available during appointments, and/or provision of supplemental items such as formula. Having a direct and immediate way to intervene can help engage patients in conversations about food needs, demonstrate the clinic’s commitment and ability to help, and mitigate the stigma associated with seeking outside food assistance.…”