Impact of changes in the frequency of food pantry utilization on client food security and well‐being

Abstract

Food pantries have traditionally focused on meeting emergency food needs. However, for many clients, food assistance is a long‐term need. The frequency with which long‐term clients visit food pantries varies; and in general, visiting frequency has been understudied because the focus has largely been on emergency, rather than long‐term, food assistance impacts. We leveraged a program innovation to identify the impact of visiting frequency on client outcomes. Using fixed‐effect models, we analyzed a panel of 1663 long‐term food pantry users observed monthly from 2017 to 2019. Within‐client increases in visiting frequency were associated with within‐in client improvements in food security and health.

Social safety net programs and food sufficiency during COVID-19 pandemic in the USA

“…This includes increasing funding to support various social safety net programs and deliberate efforts to ensure equitable access to the services offered through these programs across race and ethnic groups. Also, as most high-capacity food pantries in the country receive financial support from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Leonard et al , 2021), increasing funding to support private emergency food assistance should be pursued as policy.…”

“…A review of related literature shows that our finding is similar to other studies that examine the association between social support and food security/food sufficiency in recent times in the USA. For example, Leonard et al (2021) found evidence that a food pantry decreased household food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. In addition, Raifman et al (2021) found that receiving UI reduces the household risk of food insecurity by a third and halves the likelihood of needing to eat less because of financial constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA.…”

“…For example, identifying strategies to increase participation or improve eligibility for these programs might be critical for increasing food sufficiency during challenging times in the USA. In addition, as most high-capacity food pantries in the country receive financial support from the USDA (Leonard et al , 2021), increasing funding to support private emergency food assistance should be pursued as policy. Also, the disparities in food sufficiency levels at the intersection of race and SNAP recipient shows that policymakers need to pay attention to inequity in access to SNAP across racial/ethnic groups in the country.…”

“…According to Leonard et al (2021), the year 2018 marked the first-year food insecurity prevalence returned to the levels before the 2007/2008 financial recession in the USA. But, despite this, the state of food insecurity remains a concern to many policymakers in the USA.…”

What is free food worth? A nonmarket valuation approach to estimating the welfare effects of food pantry services

“…The present study makes a unique contribution to research on food bank services, a sector that has grown in recent decades (Bhattarai et al, 2005;Byrne & Just, 2022;Coleman-Jensen et al, 2015;Coleman-Jensen et al, 2021b). Studies have shown that increased food pantry use is associated with reduced food insecurity (Leonard et al, 2022) and improved weight and diabetes control among clients (Eicher-Miller, 2020). Furthermore, research has documented pantries that have introduced interventions to encourage clients to procure healthier options (An et al, 2019).…”