Linear programming can help identify practical solutions to improve the nutritional quality of food aid

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the nutritional quality of food aid delivered by food banks in France and to identify practical modifications to improve it. Design: National-level data were collected for all food aid distributed by French food banks in 2004, and its nutrient content per 2000 kcal was estimated and compared with French recommendations for adults. Starting with the actual donation and allowing new foods into the food aid donation, linear programming was used to identify the minimum changes required in the actual donation to achieve the French recommendations. Results: French food-bank-delivered food aid does not achieve the French recommendations for dietary fibre, ascorbic acid, vitamin D, folate, magnesium, docosahexaenoic acid, a-linolenic acid and the percentage of energy from saturated fatty acids. Linear programming analysis showed that these recommendations are achievable if more fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish were collected and less cheese, refined cereals and foods rich in fat, sugar and/or salt. In addition, new foods not previously collected are needed, particularly nuts, wholemeal bread and rapeseed oil. These changes increased the total edible weight (42%) and economic value (55%) of the food aid donation, with one-third of its edible weight coming from fruits and vegetables, one-third from staples, one-quarter from dairy products and approximately a tenth from meat/fish/eggs. Conclusions: Important changes in the types and amounts of food collected will improve the nutritional quality of food-bank-delivered food aid in France. Such changes are recommended to improve the diets of deprived French populations.

Combining Low Price, Low Climate Impact and High Nutritional Value in One Shopping Basket through Diet Optimization by Linear Programming

“…In contrast, most other studies using linear programming on diets focus on nutritional constraints exclusively [23,24,26,27,54], though some included cost successfully. The studies of Ferguson et al [23,54] for instance, were carried out to improve Food-Based Dietary Guidelines and Food Aid.…”

“…Several studies in other countries-For instance the UK, France and New Zealand-Have successfully used linear programming for diet optimization [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Some of these studies demonstrated that cost constraints have a negative impact on nutritional values, and others showed that a healthy diet will not always have lower GHGE [30].…”

Reducing the sodium-potassium ratio in the US diet: a challenge for public health

“…The Dietary Guidelines are based, in part, on food patterns that were designed to meet sodium and potassium goals at different levels of energy need (1). Linear programming, a mathematical optimization technique, offers an alternative approach to the creation of food patterns that meet multiple nutrient recommendations, while taking into account consumption patterns and cost constraints (33,34). For example, very-low-sodium diets can be achieved, in principle, by using high amounts of fruit juices, nuts, and seeds and very few grains or meats.…”

A Nutritional Analysis of the Food Basket in BIH: A Linear Programming Approach

“…Authors concluded that WHO recommendations are achievable for middle -and upper -income French women, but for those on a low food budget, a different food -based recommendation is required. Rambeloson, Z.J., Darmon, N. and Ferguson, E.L. (2008) used LP to "identify the minimum changes required in the actual donation to achieve the French recommendations. " They stated that "French food-bankdelivered food aid does not achieve the French recommendations for dietary fibre, ascorbic acid, vitamin D, folate, magnesium, docosahexaenoic acid, α-linolenic acid and the percentage of energy from saturated fatty acids."…”