Healthy Options in Food Pantries—A Qualitative Analysis of Factors Affecting the Provision of Healthy Food Items in St. Louis, Missouri

ABSTRACT

In 2015, 15.8 million households experienced food insecurity at some point during the year. One out of every 8 American households utilizes a food bank or food pantry to meet their food needs during the year. Understanding the factors that influence whether food pantries provide healthy options to clients can lead to opportunities to improve the health of food insecure individuals. Telephone interviews were conducted with food pantry staff (n = 12) in the greater St. Louis area. Using focused coding, interviews were analyzed for factors that facilitate or hinder increasing access to healthy options in food pantries. Pantry staff described barriers (e.g., perishable food storage) and facilitators (e.g., donor relationships) that affected their ability to provide clients with healthy food options. The results of this study will inform interventions aimed at improving the delivery of healthy food options to food pantry clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Food security
• food assistance
• emergency food