The Nutritional Quality of Food Provided from Food Pantries: A Systematic Review of Existing Literature

Simmet, Anja; Depa, Julia; Tinnemann, Peter; Stroebele‐Benschop, Nanette

doi:10.1016/j.jand.2016.08.015

Cited by 149 publications

(155 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…; Simmet et al . ). As many households receive food from food banks on a regular basis and are chronically food insecure (Garratt ; Loopstra & Lalor ), it should be acknowledged that food banks are no longer just an emergency source of food and have become a regular supplement for some people experiencing severe food insecurity.…”

Section: The Significance Of Food Banks For Public Health and Nutritimentioning

confidence: 97%

“…rice or pasta) but, in general, receive a pre-determined list of canned vegetables, fruit, baked beans, meat, rice or pasta, soup, UHT milk, tea or coffee, and extra treat items, when available (Caplan 2016). As has been observed in food banks operating across highincome countries (Simmet et al 2017), the reliance on donated and non-perishable foods mean the quality and quantity of foods distributed are likely not sufficient to meet daily dietary requirements, and concerns have been raised about the nutritional quality of food distributed in food banks (The Guardian 2015;Caplan 2016). In response to this critique, food banks emphasise that they provide a source of emergency food, which is not intended to be relied upon in the long-term (The Guardian 2015; Caplan 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the likely nutritional vulnerability of this population, food banks should be able to provide food in sufficient quantity, quality and variety to meet dietary recommendations. Studies of the quality and quantity of food distributed by food banks in the UK are lacking, but reports from other high-income countries have raised concerns in this area (Bazerghi et al 2016;Simmet et al 2017). As many households receive food from food banks on a regular basis and are chronically food insecure (Garratt 2017;, it should be acknowledged that food banks are no longer just an emergency source of food and have become a regular supplement for some people experiencing severe food insecurity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Loopstra

2018

Nutrition Bulletin

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The provision of food aid through food banks has recently expanded in the UK. By providing free bags of food to people experiencing financial shortfalls, food banks aim to prevent individuals and families from going without food. A growing body of research has sought to understand this type of provisioning, from what it indicates about social security in the UK to what it indicates about the problem of food insecurity. Here, recent research on the characteristics of people receiving help from food banks is reviewed, highlighting that they serve the most financially vulnerable groups in the UK: people with disabilities, people receiving out‐of‐work benefits and lone parents. The severity and chronicity of food insecurity observed in this population is a public health concern, as is evidence of high rates of poor mental health. Food banks have largely gone unevaluated for how well they do at meeting the needs of people using them, but focusing on building better food banks may also serve to further entrench voluntary and charitable food assistance as part of the social safety net in the UK. Given evidence that policy interventions such as pensions and income transfers reduce food insecurity, the importance of restoring strong social safety nets for reducing the need for food banks and food insecurity is discussed.

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Section: The Significance Of Food Banks For Public Health and Nutritimentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Loopstra

2018

Nutrition Bulletin

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“…However, the nutritional quality of pantry food is inadequate for a healthy diet (2). Likewise, pantry clients’ fruit and vegetable consumption falls short of recommendations (3).…”

Section: Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Intervention to Improve Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Among Arkansas Food Pantry Clients

2019

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Food pantries serve millions of Americans, yet the nutritional quality of foods distributed has been poor. Policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes were implemented in 3 food pantries in northwest Arkansas with the aims of improving the nutritional quality of foods distributed and increasing distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFVs). Between pre-intervention and 1 year follow-up, food pantry bag audits showed increases from 20,256.38 to 25,108.46 calories distributed per household (P = .009) and 0.22 to 3.33 servings of FFVs distributed per person per household (P < .001). Findings highlight the promise of pantry-level PSE interventions.

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“…However, the foods that hunger relief programs offer are not always nutritious. The foods distributed by hunger relief programs are often processed foods with high amounts of salt, simple carbohydrates, and fat, which can exacerbate the health disparities of food-insecure individuals (12–15). Hunger relief organizations have begun initiatives to improve the nutritional quality of the foods they provide to their clients as a way to address health disparities and to increase health equity within food-insecure populations (16, 17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Health while Alleviating Hunger: Best Practices of a Successful Hunger Relief Organization

Rowland

Mayes²,

Faitak

et al. 2018

Current Developments in Nutrition

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BackgroundFood insecurity affects millions each year in the United States. Hunger relief organizations work to reduce hunger and food insecurity; however, the foods they provide are often unhealthy.ObjectiveThe objective of this article is to document the policy, systems, and environmental changes that Samaritan Community Center made to their programs in order to better serve Washington County and Benton County, Arkansas.MethodsWith the use of a case-study approach, researchers held 17 meetings with key members of the organization and conducted >30 h of observations to document policy, systems, and environmental changes and best practices for implementing those changes.ResultsResearchers identified emergent themes and grouped best practices in the following categories: 1) removing stigma and empowering clients, 2) incremental steps to increase access to healthy foods, 3) embracing multiculturalism, 4) donation policies and procurement, 5) collaboration is key, 6) organizational culture, and 7) challenges and resolutions.ConclusionsSamaritan Community Center has successfully implemented and adopted new programs and practices in order to improve the health of their clients. To our knowledge, this is the first case study to document best practices for making policy, systems, and environmental changes by a hunger relief organization to improve the nutritional quality of foods provided to their clients.

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The Nutritional Quality of Food Provided from Food Pantries: A Systematic Review of Existing Literature

Cited by 149 publications

References 46 publications

Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Rising food bank use in the UK: Sign of a new public health emergency?

Intervention to Improve Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Among Arkansas Food Pantry Clients

Improving Health while Alleviating Hunger: Best Practices of a Successful Hunger Relief Organization

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