Addressing community needs through a participatory food security assessment

ABSTRACT

Despite substantial evidence describing the overall causes of U.S. food insecurity, in-depth explorations of single communities remain important, to understand geographic variation and identify locally responsive solutions. In one affluent Pennsylvania county, we conducted a mixed-methods community food security assessment, with pantry member surveys, in-depth interviews with pantry coordinators and stakeholders, and community-wide focus groups. Pantry members visited frequently and desired healthier foods, with households with children at highest risk. Food insecurity occurred within broader hardships, including local cost-of-living, inadequate transportation, and documentation fears. Holistic approaches at both individual and policy levels could address immediate needs and foster sustainable community change.

KEYWORDS:

• Community food security assessment
• participatory research
• food insecurity
• community nutrition
• food access
• health disparities
• food justice

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the many community members for sharing invaluable personal stories which served as the foundation of this research. Chester County Food Bank staff and distribution partners’ support was integral through planning, participant recruitment, survey distributions, and interviews. We are appreciative to the leaders who gave their vital feedback and have invested their life’s work for the betterment of Chester County. This study was made possible by The Philadelphia Foundation through the Milton Apfelbaum Fund.

Declaration Of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Philadelphia Foundation [20160856].