A Mixed-methods Study of Nutrition-focused Food Banking in the United States

ABSTRACT

Using an embedded mixed-methods approach, this study assesses efforts to improve nutritional quality of inventory at food banks. All else equal, food banks with medium and high levels of nutrition-focused food banking strategy adoption had lower mean percentages of unhealthy inventory compared to those with none. Despite positive progress in the charitable food system as a whole, national key stakeholders identified several challenges, including cost and donor reliance, in continuing this work. Findings highlight the significant progress of food banks to adopt nutrition-focused strategies and distribute healthier foods and underscore the role these strategies may have in shaping inventory quality.

KEYWORDS:

• Mixed methods research
• food bank
• community nutrition
• fruits and vegetables

Acknowledgments

We thank the University of California Global Food Initiative and Semel Healthy Campus Initiative at the University of California Los Angeles for their support of this work. No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Disclosure statement

Data not available due to ethical restrictions.

Author contributions

SER, MF, and MBS collected the data. SER wrote the first draft with contributions from MF, MBS, and MLP. All authors reviewed and commented on subsequent drafts of the manuscript.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

We thank the University of California Global Food Initiative and Semel Healthy Campus Initiative at the University of California Los Angeles for their support of this work; Office of the Chancellor, University of California, Los Angeles;Semel Healthy Campus Initiative at the University of California, Los Angeles.