Food Pantry Clients’ Needs, Preferences, and Recommendations for Food Pantries: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

A qualitative formative approach was used to explore food pantry clients’ needs, preferences, and recommendations regarding food received from food pantries. Fifty adult clients of six Arkansas food pantries were interviewed in English, Spanish, or Marshallese. Data analysis used the constant comparative qualitative methodology. In choice and minimal choice pantries, three themes emerged: clients need increased quantities of food, particularly more proteins and dairy; clients desire higher quality food, including healthy food and food not close to expiration; and clients desire familiar foods and food appropriate for their health needs. System level policy changes are needed to address clients’ recommendations.

KEYWORDS:

• food pantry
• food preferences
• charitable food system
• food insecurity
• chronic disease

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The deidentified data underlying the results presented in this study may be made available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author, Christopher R. Long, at [email protected]. The data are not publicly available in accordance with funding requirements and participant privacy.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank our partners at Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and their partner agencies who facilitated recruitment of participants. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH (#5P20GM109096). Additional support was provided by a Translational Research Institute grant from the National Center for Translational Sciences of the NIH (#1U54TR001629–01A1). The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.